The Search For Monica
by Annabethfan
Summary: Chapter 23 and 24 (last chapter) up! Scully & Mulder are back on the X-Files. Reyes is transferred to LA & Doggett realizes his true feelings for Reyes and is desperate to find her. The FBI & a new case have different ideas for John's search.
1. Chapter 1

The Search for Monica  
  
Author: Amanda  
  
E-mail: sassfocus@aol.com  
  
Rating: PG-13 for language  
  
Key words: DRR and a bit of MSR  
  
Category: Romance/angst  
  
Summery: Scully and Mulder have been let back into the X-Files and are no longer in danger. Reyes is transferred to LA. Doggett realizes too late his true feelings for Reyes and is desperate to go in search for her. The FBI and a new case have different ideas for Doggett's search.  
  
Disclaimer: Not mine! Property of Chris Carter and FOX and 1013 and all those great people who made this show what it is.  
  
Spoilers: The Truth and I guess just about all of Season 9  
  
Archive: As long as they let me know and credit it back to me! Feedback: WOULD LOVE IT!!!!!  
  
Dedication: To anyone who told me to get off my butt and write this. Also, to anyone who is open minded enough to see that the X-Files can have more than one pair of great FBI partners...and who also have great chemistry!  
  
Part 1  
  
Doggett was in complete and utter shock. Monica...was gone? How could that be? He tried to pay attention to what Skinner was telling him but couldn't make himself believe what was being thrown at him.  
  
"For the safety of you, Reyes, as well as Scully and Mulder, she needed to be transferred. I had no choice."  
  
That was the second time Skinner had repeated that line and the instance Doggett whipped his head up, Skinner knew Doggett had moved on from shock to outrage.  
  
"What the hell does this mean? She was not the one putting danger in our way. If she's guilty of putting anyone's life in danger, then all of us are guilty of it. Why punish her? Why?"  
  
Mortified, John could feel the tears spring to his eyes and before Skinner could say anything more, John slammed out of his office. And ran right smack into Scully. Mulder caught her before she could fall backwards.  
  
"Shit! Sorry, I didn't see you there." Doggett hung his head quickly and wiped at his eyes.  
  
"John, what is it? What's the matter?" Scully laid her arm on his shoulder and looked into his eyes.  
  
"We need to talk but not here. Let's go down to the office."  
  
"You got it." Mulder glanced towards Skinner's office door before guiding Scully to the elevators. Skinner had wanted to see the both of them immediately but John came first. When they had all entered the office Doggett slammed the door shut and leaned against it. Scully sat at her desk and Mulder leaned his hip to the side of it.  
  
"Monica's been transferred."  
  
"What?" Scully and Mulder said at the same time and jumped up from their sitting positions.  
  
"Skinner just informed me. But...I didn't stay long enough to find out where. I was just so angry...and I had to get out of there."  
  
"But why Monica? If anyone should have been transferred, it should have been me. Hell, I shouldn't even be here right now." Mulder picked up a paperweight off John's desk and began to fiddle with it as he paced the tiny office.  
  
"Mulder" Scully said with a warning tone and put a hand out to stop Mulder's pacing. "We should have been suspicious right at the beginning when Kersh told us it was safe to come back. That none of us were in danger and that he had managed to secure our positions back with the X-Files. It was too quick and too easy."  
  
"But I don't get it! You two run off and Monica and I don't hear squat until the next day and you're both in some motel in Arizona. You tell us Skinner has called your cell and that you're both safe to return. Monica and I get the same call and we were all suppose to meet today in Skinner's office...and Monica never showed up." John closed his eyes and rested his head against the door. He just couldn't believe this was happening.  
  
It had been four days since their escape from the super soldiers in New Mexico and just yesterday they had been given the go-ahead to return to the X-Files. They were to report immediately back to work on Monday. Two days from now. Last night Reyes, Doggett, Mulder and Scully had all gone out to a restaurant to celebrate their good, however strange, fortune. They were ready to resume their positions the upcoming Monday. Now, they had been thrown a fast curve and Monica was gone. Without saying a word to the three of them. Doggett could feel the panic rising up in the back of his throat and knew he needed to get out of there.  
  
"I'm...uh going to go back to Skinner's office and see if I can get any more information out of him about why Monica was transferred. Or where she might be. You two stay here and see if you can dig up anything as to why we've been suddenly welcomed back with open arms." With that, John squared his shoulders and walked out of the office, leaving Scully and Mulder to stare at his retreating back.  
  
Part 2.  
  
Monica could hear the traffic below on the street as she climbed up the last staircase to her new apartment. Or what she wanted to call her temporary apartment. It was on the fourth floor and she would have taken the elevator but didn't want to deal with the guy whose apartment was right next to the elevators on her floor. Every time she stepped out of the elevators he would give her some lame pick-up line and offer to carry whatever suitcase she had with her. Since she didn't feel like getting arrested for knocking him up side the head with her gun, she had decided to just take the stairs for the rest of the trips down to the parking garage to get her things. She didn't have that much more left anyway.  
  
When everything had been taken out of the rental car and stuffed into her apartment, Monica ran across the street to the little market and bought some supplies to last her until tomorrow. As she was paying someone bumped her from behind. When she turned around, she realized it was Martin Sheen. Only in LA Monica thought as she took her bags and walked back to her apartment.  
  
Once she had eaten, Monica made up her bed and turned on her alarm clock. She had an eight o'clock meeting with the Assistant Director of the LA Field Office the next morning. Monica crawled into bed and hugged a pillow to her. It had been one of the longest days of her life. Leaving her apartment in the middle of the night at the orders of Kersh and Skinner. The long flight across the United States. The hassle of trying to rent a car and finding the apartment that had been arranged for her by her new Assistant Director. At least she wasn't in a hotel. She lay awake and listened to the bustling traffic that was still going strong in the streets below at the early morning hour.  
  
She was too tired to try and hash out why she had been transferred. Why it had all been a big secret. Why she couldn't talk to John.  
  
John.  
  
God, she missed him. It hadn't been very long since she last saw him but this heavy gloom settled over her as the realization hit her. She may never see him again. Monica began to cry. She didn't even try and stop the tears. No one could see them anyway. She was alone, all alone. With that, she curled herself into a tight ball and cried herself to sleep. 


	2. chapter 2

Part 3.   
  
What the hell was that? Mulder whispered as he rolled out of bed and grabbed his gun.   
  
I have no idea.   
  
Scully rose out of bed as well and pulled on her robe. They both crept to the door and jumped when they heard the loud banging on the door. Mulder peered through the peep hole and threw open the door.   
  
We're screwed. Doggett said to them as he marched into Scully's apartment.   
  
What do you mean? Scully slid on the couch and rubbed her tired eyes. We tried to call you after your meeting with Skinner but you weren't answering your phone.   
  
Yeah I know. I had to do some thinking. I went to the bar down the street from Monica's apartment John left his sentence hanging in the air and flopped down onto the easy chair. Since he didn't seem to want to say anymore Mulder decided to tell him about the meeting he and Scully had had with Skinner.   
  
We know that Skinner refused to tell you about Monica's whereabouts or why she was suddenly transferred. When John didn't say anything Mulder continued on. Look, Scully and I have worked for Skinner long enough to know that if he thinks this is absolutely necessary, then it is.   
  
We know you're hurting but I think we need to leave this as it is for awhile until we learn what is really going on. Scully got up and kneeled down in front of John's chair and forced him to look into her eyes. I know, believe me, what you are going through. But you will see her again. Don't give up hope.   
  
At that, Mulder came to stand up behind Scully and rested his hands on her shoulders. Scully reached up and touched his right hand. John stared at them and knew..just knew he had to get Monica back. He jumped up and walked to the door.   
  
Scully went over to him as Mulder stayed by the chair. Don't be stupid. You could put yourself, the X-Files and Monica in a lot of danger.   
  
This is insane! John exploded and Scully winced. Monica never did anything! She has been there for mefor us ... this whole time and now that she needs our help and you two are just going to stand back and do nothing!   
  
You know it's not like that! Mulder walked over and put his face right into John's. You know we would do everything that was possible to bring her back if we believed it was the right thing to do. But its not. You're not thinking straight. You're letting your emotions get the better of you and now you may just end up getting her or both of you killed. Is that what you want?   
  
Gathering all the control that he could muster, John said, You know the answer to that. And with that he walked out of the apartment.   
  
He's going to get himself killed. Mulder stood staring at the closed door, then turned and looked at Scully.   
  
I knowbut he's in love with her and blames himself for her disappearance.   
  
But why? That's just stupid. He-   
  
Scully laid a hand on Mulder's arm to shut him up. she whispered, I blamed myself for your disappearance. Before he could say anything she laid her other hand over his mouth. I know it seems crazy, but I hated myself for not telling you my true feelings before they took you. I was so angry with myself and more determined to find you because of that. I wanted you back to tell you. AndI think that's what John wants too.  
  
Mulder wrapped his arms around her and they stood there for a long time, lost in each other.   
  
Part 4.   
  
Monica walked through the double glass doors and precisely 7:45 am. She straightened her black suit jacket as she stepped through the security and presented her identification. Once she was done she got into the elevator and rode it up to the seventh floor. When she walked up the AD's secretary and gave her her name, she was told by the prissy secretary to wait in the chairs across the hall. Monica walked over and sat down numbly. This was just a typical first day of a new location. She had been through this in New York, in New Orleans, in Washington DC.well, that hadn't been typical, Monica thought with a smile. She remembered the way Doggett bullied Kersh into letting her in. No! She was not going to think of John. Not right now. Instead, she forced herself to keep busy by flipping through the LA Times that had been left on the table beside her. When nothing interested her, she found herself gazing out the windows at the view. And what a view it was. She could see the magnificent buildings of the heart of Los Angeles and the beautiful hotels. To her left she could catch the brilliant blue of the sparkling ocean. That was one good thing about her new apartment. It was walking distance from the ocean. Wouldn't it be nice to walk down there later this evening? She could put on some jogging pants and   
  
The Assistant Director is ready to see you now.   
  
Monica forced herself to clear her head and got up as the secretary smirked at her. Monica entered the office and closed the door at her back. She marched confidently, at least she hoped she looked confident, up to the AD's desk and shook his hand.   
  
Assistant Director Stevens, I'm Special Agent Monica Reyes.   
  
Ah, it's a pleasure to finally meet you. This is Special Agent Sean Ryan.   
  
Monica looked to her left and saw the most gorgeous man she had ever seen in her life. A strong build with golden skin and hazel eyes that Monica was sure made every girl within 5 feet of him swoon. Including herself, Monica admitted and deliberately shook his hand quickly and faced the AD again.   
  
Please, both of you sit down. Now I was just filling in Agent Ryan in on your first case together. He thinks-   
  
Excuse me sir? Our first case together? Monica looked from him to Agent Ryan with confusion, she knew, written all over her face. So he was her new partner. This was just great, she thought with an inward scream.   
  
Well yes, I thought you had already been briefed by Skinner. I insisted you join us as we are involved in a little crisis that may involve your expertise. Skinner had informed me that you were in need of a quick transfer and I told him we would appreciate your talents.   
  
Oh, well then, I can't wait to get started.   
  
Pleased, the AD then told Agent Ryan to give her a quick tour of the building and to take her to their office. He then told her that Agent Ryan would fill her in on the case and that he wanted to be kept up-to-date daily. With that, Monica and Agent Ryan got up and left the office. On the way out Agent Ryan gave the secretary a wink and Monica could hear her still giggling as she and Agent Ryan got into the elevator. Oh yeah, Monica thought, this was just great.  
  
_****************  
PLEASE let me know what you think! This is my first story on here ... this is actually my first EVER story!_


	3. Chapter 3

Part 5.   
  
Later that evening Monica did as she promised herself earlier that day and jogged to the beach. She could hear the seagulls soaring overhead, and the screams of excitement as a young child dipped her toes into the water. When she neared the rolling waves, she slipped off her running shoes and socks. The water felt glorious between her toes and she could feel herself finally begin to relax. She began to walk at a leisurely pace and took in the wonderful aroma of the salty air. Up ahead she could see a young couple obviously in love. They huddled together as they strolled, every now and again leaning in and kissing sweetly. Monica could feel the sadness role over her as she couldn't help but watch. That had been one of her dreams. To be able to stroll with John on a beach, with water lapping at their feet and a gorgeous sunset casting beautiful warm colours everywhere. She would be holding hands with him and then John would lift her into the air and pretend to drop her headfirst into the currents. She could feel the tears threatening again and forced herself to clear her head. Now was not the time for this. She must think of the events that had happened today and what she should do about this case that she had been assigned too.   
  
She could tell Agent Ryan was going to be a problem. He was a damn good cop, but he was also damn good at getting what he wanted. Too cocky, Monica thought to herself as she kicked a pebble into the retreating waves. He was going to make things difficult for her, she could already tell. She knew she had gotten her message across when she gave him an icy look while he tried to flirt with her during lunch. Well, it had to be stopped. No only was it against Bureau policy but she was not interested, period. At least he had taken it well and they had been civil towards each other the rest of the day. It was so unlike her to shut people out. But this was not a typical situation for her, and she was trying to handle it all the best way she could.   
Also not typical was this case she had been assigned to. But this not typical' she could handle. With all of her experiences in the X-Files, hardly anything came as a shock anymore. Even though she knew she could handle it professionally, this case was such a heartbreaker. A young girl was being accused of stealing jewellery in five jewellery stores, yet her parents say she could never have done it. The-thirteen-year-old was sound asleep during each break in. The jewellery store owners all identify her as the culprit, yet the young teen has strong alibis for the time of each crime. Well, maybe not so strong. Parents had lied before in order to keep their children from going to jail. Yet, Monica had a strong instinct that this young girl was not their suspect. And she knew that it was the best to trust her instincts when she had nothing concrete to go off of.   
  
When Monica felt the wind chill suddenly rise, she glanced around and realized it was growing dark rapidly. No one else was on the beach and the seagulls were beginning to settle down for the night. Well done Agent', Monica thought, anyone could have jumped you with a gun and you would have been no match because you were in your own little world.' With one last look out into the vast ocean, she turned around and jogged back to her apartment.   
  
Part 6.   
  
John pulled himself out of his bed and had to take a minute to unravel the sheets that were bunched all around him. It had been another sleepless night and he could feel a migraine brewing inside his head. Going into the bathroom, he downed two aspirin and stared at himself in the mirror.   
  
You're a sorry looking son of a bitch.   
With that, John turned around and got ready for work. He didn't have to be into work, technically, until tomorrow but he had to go in. He had to continue his search for Monica.   
  
When John got to work, he went directly to the basement office without stopping to chat with any fellow agents. He had a goal and was determined to get it. He got onto the FBI database immediately upon entering the office and, like yesterday, he began to type in Monica's information. And like yesterday, he was denied access.   
  
Damn it! John got up and walked around the office. Where the hell would they send her? Maybe it's not the where' he should be looking for, but the why'. If he could find out the why', then he might find out the where'. But where was he suppose to start? Apparently only Skinner and Kersh knew why she had been transferred. And Skinner was sure as hell not going to tell him. He made that crystal clear. And he wasn't even going to attempt to question Kersh. So John was just going to have to find it himself.   
  
Since it was Sunday afternoon, very few agents were in the building. Going up to Skinner's office, he could see immediately that Skinner was one of the few agents that just might have a life outside the FBI. With a small chuckle, John whipped out his pen knife and kneeled down to try and work the doorknob.   
  
You're never going to get in there with that pathetic piece of metal.   
John whirled around and knocked his shoulder against the secretary's desk. Grimacing, John shot Mulder a lethal look. What the hell are you doing here?   
  
Well, I thought you might need some help, and well, it looks like you do, Mulder kneeled down in front of the door and whipped out a little tool case he had zippered in the side pocket of his jacket.   
  
I don't need your help, and as you and Scully have already said, you don't want to help me. John gritted his teeth and was forced to watch as Mulder worked his magic. Three seconds later and the agents were walking into the office.   
  
In about 6 minutes a guard will be making his way down this hall. After him another guard will follow in four minutes. The second one is the one to watch out for because he makes it a habit to check each office on this floor.   
  
Glaring at him, John pulled open the top drawer to Skinner's desk. I don't even want to ask how you know that. Hell, I don't even want you here.   
  
Maybe not, but you would never have gotten in here in time with that wimpy boy scout knife if I hadn't happened to stop by with my bad boys. Mulder padded his jacket pocket and began to look on top of Skinner's desk.   
  
Without a reply, John continued to rifle through the top drawer. Seeing nothing, he went for the second drawer. When he saw it was locked, Mulder whipped out his tools again and was about to go to work when John grabbed them out of his hand.   
  
Give me that. I can do that.   
  
Backing off, Mulder put both hands up jokingly and then started to pace around the office, checking his watch.   
  
John slid the drawer open and as Mulder looked on, began to rifle through the contents. Just when he thought he had turned up another dead end, he came across a small torn slip of paper with Monica's name on it and half of a word that had been torn off. The word was . What the hell does this mean? Before John could ponder over it, Mulder clasped his hand on John's shoulder.   
  
We gotta split, NOW! John slipped the paper into his pocket and they quickly put everything back, locked the drawer and shuffled the top of Skinner's desk back to what it originally looked like. They turned off the lamp and walked towards the door. As they neared the door, they could see the door knob began to turn. 


	4. Chapter 4

Part 7

Mulder looked over his shoulder at John and they both went for the other door of Skinner's office.  Just as they reached it, the other door opened and Scully walked in.

"Shit, Scully!  I have never been so happy to see your gorgeous face!"  Mulder walked over to her and offered her a sheepish smile.

"Oh gee, thanks.  What the hell are you two doing in here?"

"I'll explain it in a second but we got to get out of here now!"  John herded them out of the office and then turned around to relock the door with his 'boy scout knife'.  They walked quickly to the elevators and just as the doors slid shut, they could see the second guard start his way down the hall.

"Scully, how the hell did you know we were in there?" John asked her.  

"Well, it wasn't hard.  You weren't in the basement and whose office does Mulder like breaking into the most?"

Mulder pretended he didn't hear that.  The elevator began its decent and all three looked at the doors and could see each other's reflections in the metal.  Scully looked at Mulder's refection and smiled at him.  Mulder smiled back and John rolled his eyes and…smiled too.  

"Lets just hope these doors don't slide open to the lobby and scare everyone away when they see three grinning agents."  Scully poked Mulder in the ribs but couldn't keep from giggling.  

 When they reached the basement, they all stepped out of the elevators and walked into their office.  Scully sat at what was Monica's desk and John sat at his since desks hadn't been placed in the already cramped office for Mulder and Scully.   Mulder leaned against the wall and said, "Okay, so we know she was indeed transferred and it has something to do with astro…"

"Astro?"  John handed Scully the slip of paper and she fiddled with it as she looked over it.  "This could be anything."

"I know," John felt the panic again but forced it down as he sprang out of his chair, "this is a small clue but …this would be so much easier if the head of the FBI wasn't trying to hide her.  I mean, we can't check the airlines, taxis, nothing!  Everything has been covered up so neatly, it's like a conspiracy."  As soon as it was out of his mouth, he regretted saying it.  Mulder looked over at him and Scully groaned.

Part 8

Monica pulled up behind two cop cars and got out.  Stretching her back, she glanced around her.  Five cops were milling around, picking up evidence and photographing the crime scene.  She could see Agent Ryan up ahead, talking to a civilian.  Monica made her way over to him and, tuning into the conversation, she quickly realized that this was the owner of the jewelry store that had just been robbed.

"She just stood there, as if she couldn't hear me at all."  The woman seemed frantic as she relayed the events to the two agents.

"Do you mean she was ignoring you, or that she just could not hear you?"  Monica watched the woman as she pondered over the question.

"I don't think she could hear me.  It's as if I wasn't even there.  She just continued to reach into the case and take the bracelet."

"What kind of weapon did she have?" Monica glanced at her as she flipped out her own note pad and wrote all the information down.  When the woman didn't respond, Monica whipped her head up and looked at her.  "She did have a weapon, didn't she?"

"I…I don't know.  I can't remember."

"Okay, that's it for now.  Thank you for your time.  We'll be in touch."  Agent Ryan touched Monica's elbow and she began to walk beside him.

"What the hell does this mean?  This is the sixth case with a robbery in a jewelry store, the same suspect and no weapon."

"And don't forget, she has an alibi.  This time though, she was at a friend's house and was asleep on a couch while she and her friends were watching videos."  Monica stopped in front of her car and turned to look at him

"But that doesn't make any sense!"  Agent Ryan spat at the ground and turned around to look at the jewelry store.  After a minute, he turned around and said sarcastically, "You're suppose to have this ability to come up with strange theories.  So come up with one!"

Monica watched him stalk off and turned to her car.  Damn it!  She was always considered the 'black sheep' wherever she went.  Sometimes she wished she would just keep her mouth shut.

Monica walked up the hill and gingerly sidestepped the yellow tape as she entered the store.  There was powder all over the glass cases, but other than that, the store seemed like there had been no robbery.  Monica walked over to the case where the bracelet had been stolen from and peered inside.  All the jewelry sparkled and Monica could see the little empty space where the bracelet should have been.  There had been no weapon, yet the store owner had been frightened for her life by a thirteen-year-old.  Very strange.  And, Monica thought, there would probably be no fingerprints, just like the other five cases.  With one last look, Monica walked out and went to her car.  Agent Ryan had already left.  Just as well, she didn't need to deal with his sarcasm right now anyway.  Grabbing her tape recorder, Monica walked back and began to retrace the crime scene.


	5. Chapter 5

Part 9.

It was 1:45 in the morning but John felt more awake then ever.  His fingers flew over his computer keyboard as he tried to come up with what 'astro-' was.  

"Astronomy?  But that doesn't make any sense."  

Or did it?  Who knew?  The more he thought about it, how was he suppose to know if he came across it?  What if he was staring at the answer on his computer right now and didn't even know it?  He used to tease Monica about her 'feelings', but more often then not, those 'feelings' had helped  solve cases.  Maybe, just maybe, the way to find her was only to use her method.  But what if he couldn't feel these 'feelings?

John knew he better shut down for the night.  He had to be up early to report to work and, hell, he was starting to talk to himself.  This was not a good sign.  He shut down the computer and was about to turn off the desk light when a picture caught his eye.  It was a newspaper photo of Monica and him when they were solving that case in Van Nuys, California.  He remembered that case vividly, the way he and Monica had constantly teased each other as they both tried to outsmart the other.  'Just connecting A to B to C.".   That warm feeling he had felt when Monica had slipped her hand into his at the hospital and had told him she thought he was getting the hang of the job. If he was, then how come he was not much closer to finding her than that heart-wrenching day he had been told she had been transferred and was not allowed to know her whereabouts?  

John looked down at the picture again.  It was of the two of them standing in front of the 'Brady Bunch' house.  He remembered he had just finished a call from Scully, informing them she was in the LA Field Office and that he and Monica were on TV.  The morning they had left for the airport, after the long night in the hospital trying to make sure Anthony would be alright, he had stopped to pick up the local newspaper  and had discovered the picture.  He remembered taking the time to cut out the picture and article before arriving to LAX.  He had never shown it to Monica.  He didn't know why.  It was somehow personal for him.  She looked so beautiful in the picture.  Although, she always looked beautiful.  Why hadn't he ever told her that?  In the picture, she was gazing up at him and laughing.  He was grinning back at her.  John picked up the picture and gently traced Monica's face.

"Where are you?" he whispered.

Part 10.

Monday morning.  Coffee was needed.  Right now.  As she saw Agent Ryan stride toward their office through the open doorway, Monica knew it was important to her survival that she get some coffee in her stat.  So she got up and met him in the doorway to their office.

"Look, whatever you have to show me, can we do it on the go?  I'm going down to get a coffee."

Exasperated, Agent Ryan fell into step with her.  "We may have gotten  a fingerprint and you want to get coffee?"

"A fingerprint? That's great!  And yes, I want to get coffee."

"Yeah, we got it off the metal lining at the corner of the counter where the bracelet was kept."

They both stepped onto the elevator and lowered their voices so they couldn't be over heard.

"But how do you know it's not one of the customers?  It could be anybody who had shopped there within the last two days of the crime.  The owner said she hadn't cleaned the counters except for a little dusting in the last two days."

"That was true but I talked to her this morning and she had remembered cleaning that one counter just five minutes before the crime."

"Oh, that's convenient."  Monica walked up to the coffee cart outside the building and ordered her coffee.  Agent Ryan lingered off to the side, brooding, until she had gotten her coffee and they both turned around and went back into the building.

They were about to get back into the elevator when Agent Ryan whipped around, grabbed Monica's arm and dragged her to a corner of the enormous lobby.  

Trying to keep the coffee from spilling all over her suit, Monica was flabbergasted at what he had just done.  "Who the hell do you think-"

"Why don't you trust me?"

"What?  What are you talking about?"

"We just may have evidence that will catch this thirteen-year-old girl, who I might add has been identified by all six of the jewelry store owners as the suspect, and you keep shrugging it off.  You are so determined to prove that this girl is innocent.  Why?"

"Because I don't think she did it."

"You don't think she…what the hell are you trying to do?"  Agent Ryan threw up his hands and was almost shouting. "Oh yeah, I heard about you.  You and your 'feelings.'  Well. you know what?  Your feelings are not going to solve this case, do you hear me?  We are going to solve this case with hard evidence!"

Monica could see heads begin to turn and uniformed policemen getting concerned as they stood at their posts.  She put a hand on Agent Ryan's arm and said, "Now is not the time for this.  We need to talk, in our office, so we don't have the entire building gossiping about us by lunchtime."

With that, they both walked across the lobby and got into the elevator with icy silence.

When they reached their office, Agent Ryan sat at his desk and Monica slammed the door shut. She began to pace around their small office.  "What the hell was all that about?"

"You-"

"No, I see what this is.  You've heard about me and my ability and have already decided I'm a kook.  Well I'll tell you something!  These instincts have saved my ass more times that I can count."

When Agent Ryan smirked and settled his gaze on her ass, she quickly sat down behind her desk and continued.  "Look, let's just settle this right now.  We  both want to catch this person right?  Well, we both have our own ways of doing things.  Hard evidence is the key to finding our culprit, but I just don't think you are going to find evidence on this girl.  I know she didn't do this and I will prove it to you."

With that, Monica picked up the phone and called the lab.


	6. Chapter 6

Part 11

"John?"

"Hmm?"

"It's after five.  Mulder and I are going to take a break and go get something to eat."

"Uh-huh"

"Come with us."  Scully demanded.

"Uh-huh"

"Okayyyy…..John, there's three strippers outside the office and one of them says she know you."

"Uh-…What?"

"I knew that would get your attention.  Look, you have to eat something.  Besides, I don't know how you can't have a monstrous headache from staring at that computer all day."  Scully rubbed her own temples for emphasis and tried again.

"Look, one hour tops.  We can even rehash about what we have gone over today.  I just need to get out of here for awhile and so do you.  Mulder is saving us a table at a restaurant down the street.  Now come on!"  Scully tossed John his jacket and he grudgingly put in on as Scully ushered him out the door and into the elevator.

By the time they reached the restaurant, there was already a line forming on the outside.  Scully and Doggett squeezed by the frustrated line of people and found Mulder in a booth in the back.  As they slid into the booth, Mulder looked up. 

"Well, well.  See what I had to put up with for you two?"  Gesturing toward the massive crowd outside, Mulder leaned to his right and kissed Scully.

Across from them, John picked up his menu and blankly stared at it.  He didn't feel like eating but he knew Mulder and Scully were trying to help by taking him out of his 'cave' and seeing what was actually going on in the real world.  He appreciated it but he couldn't wait to get back to his office and try contacting Monica's relatives in Mexico again.  Or following up on that 'astro-' clue.  Or-

"John?"

"W-what?"  

"Ah, there he is.  What do you want to drink?"  Mulder grinned at him but felt great sympathy for the man.  Knowing he himself was a lucky man, he reached under the hand and grasped Scully's hand.

"Uh, just coffee, thanks."  John looked over at the crowd at the front door and studied them.  His gaze swept over the individuals and settled on a man.  He looked to be in his late forties and a business man.  His tie was loosened around his neck and his suit a bit wrinkled.  All of the sudden a child started to scream and grabbed the man's hand.  The man grimaced and tried to quiet the child down.  A woman leaned over to him and whispered something to the man, in which he then handed her the child and picked up another child.  The man held the little girl who had begun to cry and kept glancing down the street.  John tore his gaze away from the family and settled it on Mulder and Scully, who were studying him.

"What?"

"Nothing. We're just worried about you, that's all."  Scully reached across the table, gave his hand a friendly squeeze.

After the three had ordered their food, they began to hash out what they had come up with so far about Monica's disappearance.  So far, Monica's family and friends had no idea where she was, or if they did, they were great actors.  Her old neighbors had no information other than the fact they had heard a lot of commotion early on the morning she had left and saw men taking her things down to a moving truck.  They didn't remember seeing a label on the moving truck and didn't look much further into Monica's odd departure.  They knew she was an FBI Agent and by this time, very few things she did anymore could surprise them.  John had thought about Monica storing her stuff in storage somewhere but no luck so far in discovering where.

Thirty minutes later, they were ready to leave.  As they were getting up, John glanced over at a table full of noise and noticed the family again.  The man's face was now flushed and he looked ready to just fall apart.  He obviously did not want to be there.  Probably a really hard day at work and now he had his children screaming at him when he probably just wanted a cold beer and some peace and quiet.  John didn't blame him.  They walked out of the restaurant and began walking back to the FBI Headquarters.  John wished he could just fade away from this horrible nightmare and sit on some beach somewhere with a cold beer.  Just to leave this hell that was surrounding-

"Wait!"

"What?"  Startled, Scully almost walked into John when he stopped on the sidewalk.  John turned around with a look of disbelief on his face and looked at the bewildered Mulder and Scully.

"I think…I think I know what the 'astro-' is."

With that, John set off at a run towards the FBI headquarters with Mulder and Scully not far behind him.

Part 12.

"Okay, so you were right."  

Monica looked up from where she was sitting just as Agent Ryan dropped a manila envelope on her desk.

"What are you talking about?"

"It's not the girl."  Agent Ryan walked to the window and looked out over the city.  The sun was just about to go down and was casting warm pink and orange colors into the sky.  "Damn it! I thought we were about to finish this case!"  Agent Ryan slowly turned around and faced Monica.  He took a deep breathe.  "Okay, so how did you know it wasn't her?"

Monica picked up the manila envelope and laced it between her fingers.  "Actually, I do think it was her.  Just not in the way you mean."

"What?"

"I just know she didn't do it intentionally."  Monica looked up at Agent Ryan's baffled face.

"Not intentionally?"

"Well, it's hard to explain."

"No, I want to hear this.  Look, its getting late.  Why don't we go grab a bite to eat and you can explain your  ...err...theory."

"Okay."

They both grabbed their things and left the office.  As they walked out into the balmy air, Monica finally began to relax.  She had spent the entire day looking at this case from all angles in the little office.  It felt so good to get outside again.  They turned to their left and walked for awhile, not saying anything.  They came upon the beach pier and wandered down the row of restaurants.  After awhile, Agent Ryan asked, "Any preference?"

Monica shook her head and they walked a little further.  All of the sudden, Agent Ryan stopped.  "Lets eat here.  They have a quiet patio where we can talk."

Once they were settled at a table and had ordered their food, Agent Ryan leaned back in his chair and stared at her.

"What?"  Self-conscious, Monica quickly glanced down at her silverware.

"Nothing.  I guess I'm just wondering why a smart and beautiful agent such as yourself would be transferred here without an explanation.  I mean, all I know about you, and believe me I checked, is that you have an unusual way of finding answers.  There's no history of where you were transferred from, who your past work partners were, what you are most afraid of.  Nothing."

Monica looked at him for a second and said, "Why is it so important?"  

"We're partners, Monica.  We may be partners for awhile.  Don't you think we should know something more about each other, other than what gets on our nerves? Which I believe, we've covered."  Monica smiled and looked out to the dark ocean, which was barely visible in the moonlight.  She had imagined eating dinner with John in the moonlight.  Somewhere quiet, with candlelight.  Whoa!  Where did that thought come from? She had told herself not to think of him while she was working. Even though, technically, she wasn't working right now, she was with her work partner.  And once he was done with his gentle prodding into her background, they would be working again.  

"Its a guy, isn't it?

"What?" Startled by his comment, Monica picked up her glass of water and took a long sip.  

"Look, I don't mean to pry-"

"Uh-huh."

Agent Ryan smiled and continued, "But it's like, you seem to be here, on the case and working your damn hardest.  But somewhere, in the back of your mind, something is nagging at you.  Tearing you to pieces.  And when it comes to a point on an assignment where I need to rely on you fully, you might not be ready to back me up."

Monica felt herself flush and was ready to tell him a piece of her mind when she looked into his eyes ands saw he wasn't baiting her.  He was really concerned.

"His name is John."

"Okay, that's a start.  I've got a name.  Now was that so hard?"  Agent Ryan pretended to faint back into his chair with an exaggerated sigh.

Monica laughed until she could barely breathe.  He might not be such an ass to work with after all.

"While we're on the subject, let's talk about your girlfriend."

"Which one?"  With a mischievous grin, Agent Ryan grabbed a dinner roll and bit into it happily as Monica tried hard not to grin back at him.


	7. Chapter 7

Part 12.

"Astro projection, shortened for astral projection.  The idea of someone escaping their physical body.  You remain attached to your physical body by an invisible cord.  Almost like an umbilical cord.  You travel and are aware of things and places that you encounter.  Of course, this has never been scientifically proven."  Scully shrugged her shoulders as she looked from John to Mulder.  "You guys think Monica is astro projecting herself?"

Before Mulder could say anything, John said, "No.  But I think she is part of a case that involves astro projection.

Surprised at how calmly John admitted to believing this theory, Mulder nodded his head in agreement and started to roam the office, trying to piece together what they had discovered so far.  He turned around and looked at Scully.

"But what I don't get is, why this secrecy?"  He looked over at John, who just shook his head.  "Why Skinner covered up Monica's transfer?  He said she had become a threat to herself, to us and to the X-Files.  But I don't see how.  Not with a case that has to do with astro projecting."

Mulder went to stand behind Scully and put his hands on her shoulders.  He began to rub them when Scully said, "John, there's also something you should know." 

John looked up at them, "What now?"

"No, it's not like that."  Scully looked at the ground and Mulder continued for her.

"We had a little meeting today with Skinner while you were glued to your computer.  He has a new case for us."

"What!"  John jumped out of his chair, "We need to focus on this!"

"I know, but as far as Skinner is concerned, we shouldn't be looking for Monica, period.  We're back on the X-Files now, and they want us to start ASAP."

John jammed his hands in his pockets and finally met Mulder in the eye.  "Okay, yeah I know.  It's just…well I need to find her.  And I won't stop until I do."

Scully got up and walked over to him.  "We know.  And we will help you in any way that we can."

It was very late by the time John climbed into his truck ad set out for home.  As he drove through the dark streets, his thoughts kept wandering to Monica.  What was she doing right now?   Was she up late working?  On a date?  John shuddered at that last thought.  She better not be!  John hit the steering wheel and suddenly burst out laughing.  What right did he have to say that?  She had always been there for him.  He knew she had the same feelings for him, yet he had kept her at arms length.  And now he thought he could have control over if she wanted to date.  God damn it, he didn't even know where she was to even tell her not to date.

He was losing his mind.  John pulled up into his driveway and just sat there.  He stared at his garage door and finally scrubbed his hands over his face and got out.  He walked up the walkway and dug out his keys as he stepped onto the porch.  Hearing a rustling sound behind him, he turned around and whipped out his gun.

"Geez, I was wondering how long you were going to sit out there in that truck.  With Monica on your mind, it might have been a long time.  It's freezing out here.  The weather is much easier to deal with in the desert."  With that, Gibson walked out of the shadows and stood under the porch light.

"Gibson?"  John could hardly keep the astonishment out of his voice.  "What the hell are you doing here?"

"To help you find Monica.  Now could you please put away your gun and open the door?  I'm dyin' out here."

"Oh yeah.  Sure...sure."  

John fumbled with the lock and then opened the door and stood back as Gibson nearly ran inside.

Part 13.

Drumming her fingers on her desk, Monica knew it was going to be a long night.  It was nearly eleven and she was full of energy.  Of course, she had nearly downed four cups of coffee.  Actually, what she really longed for was a cigarette.  She had been so good up to now, but everything was turning upside down in her life and she was losing the little control she had left.  She missed the East Coast, her friends, the X-Files and...John.  Oh God, how could this of happened?  Everything was going wrong.

Okay, deep breathe. She silently chanted this to herself and she forced herself to focus on the open files spread out on her desk.  There, on the inside flap of the first folder, held a photo of the thirteen year-old suspect.  She was very pretty, with curly blond hair and a few freckles dusted over her cheeks.  She looked so innocent.  Monica knew looks could be conceiving but her gut instinct told her that this girl was not the person they were looking for.  She was the one stealing the jewelry, but she was being manipulated into doing it.  But by who?  Monica pondered over this for awhile when the ringing of her cell phone jerked her out of deep thought.

Monica reached over and pressed the 'on' button.

"Reyes"

"Monica?"

"Skinner?"

"Uh yes.  I was calling to check up on you.  See how you were doing."

"Sir, I know you have better means of checking up on me…but I appreciate you calling."

Skinner chuckled and was silent for a minute.  "I don't know when this will be over," he admitted.

"I know.  And I wanted to say thanks again...for helping me through this.  It's all so strange."

"No thanks needed.  You're one of my agents, and a damn good one."

Monica smiled at that and said nothing for a minute.

Skinner pressed on.  "I just wanted you to know I am doing everything I can over here to quicken the pace of ending this so we can get you back here."

"Thank you Sir.  Umm…And the X-Files…I mean…"  Monica knew she was screwing this up but she didn't know how to ask him without sounding…foolish.

Skinner knew what she was trying to ask.  "Agent Doggett is fine but he's trying is damn hardest to locate you."  

Monica took in a deep breathe and forced her voice not to sound shaky.  "And you're making sure he doesn't find out anything right?  If anything happens to him, or Agents Mulder and Scully-"

"I know.  Believe me I know.  So far, I don't think they've come up with anything conclusive but if I think they are onto something I'll try and throw them off."

"Thank you sir."

"Monica, you hang in there.  I'll be in touch."

Monica stared at her cell phone for a second and gently put in on her desk.  She closed her eyes and suddenly felt like she was suffocating.  She needed to get some air.  She ran into her bedroom, threw on some running clothes, grabbed her apartment key and ran out the door.  Running down the hallway, she ignored the guy who still was relentless about trying to ask her out.

"Hey honey, where you off to so-"   The elevator doors slammed shut before he could finish.  Down in the lobby she went out the side door and burst out onto the street.  She made a right turn and started running toward the beach. She had to escape, she had to keeping running.  Her breathe began to quicken as she tried to take in oxygen and hundreds of thoughts raced through her mind.  People were going to find out and they were going to get hurt because of it.  People were bound to realize something was up when no one could find information on her besides the top directors of the FBI.  Thanks to Kersh, who she owed big time, no one was to find out anything.  Monica felt tears running down her cheeks but she made no move to wipe them away and pressed on.  She jumped onto the sand and ran along the water.  She could barely see the water because of the darkness but she found her way by listening to the surf and following the light posts that lit the sand and the few parking lots.  She ran harder and harder.  She was so lost in her thoughts than she didn't see him until she almost plowed right into him.  The man was standing right in her path and was almost invisible in the darkness.

"OH!  I am so sorry.  I wasn't watching where I was going."  Monica bent over a little to catch her breathe and looked up again.

"It's alright.  Isn't it a little late for a woman to be out alone?"

Monica smiled, a little puzzled because she knew she had heard that voice before but couldn't place it.

"I know.  I just needed a little run.  I'm sorry for almost running into you.  Bye."  Monica took off and not two minutes later did she stop when the realization hit her.  

That voice, those eyes.  

No, he was dead.  She knew he was dead.  Monica whipped around but he was gone.  Suddenly she felt frightened.  FBI agent or not, she was a woman who was dumb enough to not bring a weapon while stupidly running in the middle of the night.  

Monica quickly ran up the sand and stuck close to the light posts as she ran home. 

When she got to her door, she trembled as she tried to stick her key into the lock.  On the third try the door swung open and Monica almost fell inside.  She relocked the door and turned around.   Walking to the kitchen she grabbed a glass and filled it with water.  Deciding she was paranoid and should give the case another whirl, she walked to her desk and dropped the glass of water. The files were gone.  All of them.  And on her desk in black marker were the words, "You'll soon see."

Panicked, Monica grabbed her gun from her coffee table and, checking to see if it was loaded, did a quick search of her apartment.  When she found nothing, she dropped into a kitchen chair and stared numbly at her desk across the room.  She didn't even feel the blood dripping down her legs from the broken glass.  She didn't feel the cold chill of the ocean breeze flowing in through an open window.  All she was aware of was they had found her, and she had come face to face with man who had died and come back…yet again.


	8. Chapter 8

Part 14.

John jumped up from his chair when he heard the urgent knocking on his front door.  As soon as he opened it, Mulder shouldered his way in and yelled "Gibson!"  

Scully was right behind him, a look of confusion written all over her face.  She turned to John as Mulder walked up to Gibson and said, "Why Gibson?  What does he have to do with Monica's disappearance?"

"I have no idea.  We agreed not to talk until you two got here.  The more ears, the better."

Scully nodded and walked over to Gibson.  Giving him a huge hug, she led him toward the couch.

"How are you?  We haven't heard from you since, well you know."

Gibson nodded.  "I'm good.  After Monica and John took me back here, to Washington DC, we realized there was nothing here for me.  No protection, nothing.  I escaped to the desert again but as soon as I got there, the danger seemed to have vanished.  All the super soldiers were gone.  I kept thinking it was too good to be true, which is why I had been lying low.  But then I came across information about something evil that has been brewing again.  And Monica is at the center of it."

At this, John stiffened and got up.  "I'll uh... I'll get us some coffee before we go any further."

Scully, Mulder and Gibson looked at each other when he left and said nothing until John returned with four steaming mugs.  After handing them around, he sat back down, took a deep breathe and looked at Gibson.

"Okay, so Monica is at the center of this..,"

"Conspiracy," Mulder offered.

John looked at him and said "Thanks."

Mulder didn't even acknowledge him; he was lost in thought with his hands folded in front of his mouth as he thought about this turn of events.

John looked back at Gibson and said, "Start at the beginning.  When did you first find out about this new conspiracy?"  John almost choked on the last word but remained calm as he stared at Gibson.

"Well, it was pretty quiet for awhile in the desert.  Until recently I had heard that you two," Gibson nodded at Mulder and Scully, "were reassigned to the X-Files.  I was really surprised, but pleased. I thought the X-Files were gone for good, until they reopened it and had Agents Doggett and Reyes running them again.   But two days later I received some more news.  I can't tell you who it came from but what I can tell you is what he said. The super soldiers were vanquished from this earth, but another kind is taking over.  However, there are very few of them, only a handful I believe.  But don't be mistaken, they are just as deadly."

"Uh-Huh."  Mulder got up and began to pace the room with everyone watching his every move.  "So these new super soldiers, do they have a name?  Or are they just super soldiers?"

"No, they are different. Therefore, they are categorized differently.  They are called Red Guns."

"Red Guns?"  Scully couldn't help but laugh.  "They couldn't come up with something better?"

"Red guns, meaning they are machines to spill blood."

"Oh."  Scully sat back on the couch and pondered over this.

"So how does Monica fit into this?  Why do these Red Guns want her?"  John was anxious to hear everything as quickly as he could so he could get to work on planning his next move in locating and warning her.

"She has this capability to tap into feelings.  What these Red Guns want to achieve, they know they will need help.  They need her."

"But there has to be other people who have this ability."

"Yes.  But only Monica has the inside to FBI capability, and if she's maneuvered correctly, she'll never know she was helping these men in the first place."

John got up and walked to the window.  "Okay, I have heard enough of this hocus pocus.  This is unreal."

"John."  Scully warned him softly.

Gibson got up as well and put his hand on John's back as John stared out the window into the dark night.

John turned around.

"I have also heard that the leader has already made contact with her."

Mulder looked over and said, "And who is that?"

"Knowle Rohrer."

Part 15.

"Monica!  Wait up!"

Monica turned around to see her partner running toward her.  She had just left their office and had left him a note taped to his computer.

"Where are you going?"

"I just got a lead.  I called your cell, but couldn't get a hold of you."  Handing Agent Ryan the slip of paper, Monica stepped into the elevator and pressed the button for the lobby.  Agent Ryan glanced down at the paper.

"Terrance Fisher?  Who is that?" 

"He says he has some information about this girl."

The doors opened and they both walked outside and towards Monica's car.  Because she still wasn't quite sure how to maneuver around Los Angeles, Agent Ryan directed her through the traffic and to the address printed on the little piece of paper.  They pulled up and were in complete awe.  The house, rather the mansion, stood on a cliff and looked out toward the ocean.  The front was made of stone and looked like it belonged in the colonial era.  There were white pillars that supported the magnificent balcony that looked out onto the street and probably had a great view of Los Angeles, the San Fernando Valley and the surrounding mountains.  There were hundreds of windows, giving the mansion an airy feel.  Monica and Agent Ryan stepped from the car and slowly walked up the front walk and to the big front doors. 

Agent Ryan whistled and said, "We sure as hell don't get paid enough."

Monica smiled and knocked on the door.  Expecting a maid to answer, Monica was surprised when a gorgeous young man opened the door. He appeared to be in his late twenties and in great shape.  He was wearing black slacks and a royal blue button down shirt.    

Smiling at them, he stepped back and Monica and Agent Ryan stepped inside.  "You must be Agents Reyes and Ryan.  It's good to meet you.  I'm Terrance Fisher."  Shaking both of their hands, he led them through several rooms where he finally stopped and motioned for them to have a seat.  Monica felt uneasy in this room.  It looked as though nothing had ever been touched.  The room was fairly barren except the white leather couch, two statues of dolphins and a whicker chair.  The room opened up into another room that had a beautiful view of the ocean.  Monica and Agent Ryan sat gingerly on the couch and looked at Terrance, who had settled into the chair.

Monica knew she should start by asking Terrance questions but couldn't seem to find her voice.  She was having horrible vibes about this man, and about the house.  She couldn't remember a place where she had felt so uneasy.  Well she could, but it had been awhile.

Seeing that Monica wasn't going to make the first move, Agent Ryan opened up the questioning by asking Terrance how he knew the girl, Kate Simpson.

"I know her because I have done business with her parents.

"And what kind of business are you in?"  Snapping back into control, Monica took out her notebook and began taking notes.

"I'm in construction.  Here's my business card."  Monica took it and tucked it into her purse.

"Kate's parent had hired me to do some adding on to their upstairs master bedroom.  Anyway, I went there yesterday to measure their bedroom and had to walk by Kate's room a couple of times.  The second time I walked by I saw her sitting on her bed, playing with a bracelet.  It was very beautiful.  I didn't realize it was the one stolen until I saw the NEWS this morning.  And that's when I called you."  Terrance shrugged his shoulders and sat back in his chair.

"Did you notice any other jewelry?"

"No. Just the bracelet.  It was only a glance though."

Monica leaned forward and looked the man in the eyes.  "Sir, is it at all possible that you could have mistaken the bracelet?  Maybe it could have been a different color, different shape?"

Terrance starred right back at her for a second and replied, "No."

Suddenly chilled, Monica stood up and Agent Ryan stood as well.

"Thank you for you time and please call us if you can think of anything else.  We'll show ourselves out."

Monica walked stiffly out of the room and made her way toward the door.  Glancing into another room, she gasped and almost stumbled.  Agent Ryan caught her arm and helped her regain her balance.

"You okay?"

"Yeah."  Monica looked into the room again but no one was there. She walked farther into the room and looked around.  The room was just as barren, except it had a few lamps tucked here and there.  There were several doors that led into other rooms. Who knew which door he could have gone through.  And she couldn't just start walking through each room, not with Terrance near by.  "Let's just get out of here.  This place gives me the creeps," she whispered.

Monica and Agent Ryan quickly walked to the front door and down the walkway toward their car.  As soon as they got in, Monica turned on the heater.

"What was with that place?  Did you notice that were no personal stuff in that house?  Just some furniture and a couple of statues.  No color at all.  Even on the outside, no gardens or flowers.  And this Mr. Fisher.  He looks rather young to have done so well for himself already.  Very interesting."  Agent Ryan stared up at the mansion through his window.  He turned to her and looked at her while she stared straight ahead and gripped the steering wheel. She had yet to turn the key into the ignition.

"What did you see in that room?"

"Not what…who."                         

When Agent Ryan opened his mouth to ask her who it was, Monica shook her head and turned on the car.  They pulled away from the house and neither of them saw the four men watching them from the balcony.  They made their way down the winding road in silence.  When they reached the main road, Monica couldn't stand it anymore.

"We need to speak to the Simpson's again."

"What?  Look I know Terrance was a creep but his story sounded concrete.  And we can check up on it with just a few strokes of the keyboard.  We've already put Kate's family though enough.  Until we have enough evidence to bring her in, I don't see why we have to barge in on them right now."

"I can't rely on the computer right now.  We are so close.  I just need to talk to her, and to her parents. Right now."

Resigned, Agent Ryan sat back in his seat and didn't say another word.

Monica welcomed his stubborn silence.  She needed time to think.  Why had Knowle Rohrer been there?  He had been in that room and as soon as she saw him, he had smiled at her.  After Agent Ryan had helped her to her feet, Knowle had vanished when she looked back.  This reaffirmed that she had not been hallucinating last night.  Knowle Rohrer had indeed been there last night on the beach.  But how?  All the super soldiers were suppose to have vanished. Oh God, had they come back?  Monica felt her knuckles tightening on the steering wheel.  Did John know?  Did Mulder and Scully?  And even so, why was Knowle Rohrer here?  He had made contact with her.  This meant he needed her for something.  And he knew Terrance Fisher obviously.  Well, that explained why she felt chilled around Terrance.  He was obviously a super soldier too.  Oh great, this was just great. She couldn't tell Agent Ryan any of this.  Well, at least not yet.  First she had to question the Simpson's to confirm her suspicions.  


	9. Chapter 9

Part 16.

"Knowle Rohrer?  But that makes no sense!"  John stood in his office early Wednesday morning and faced Scully, who stood by the door.

"I know.  He's a super soldier that was supposedly killed out in the desert but you know as well as I do that these super soldiers aren't normal.  They don't seem to die, but be vanquished.  And who really knows how long they stay gone."

John looked at her while she brushed a hand through her hair and tried to stifle a yawn.  It had been only eight hours since Gibson had showed up at his door and he had called Mulder and Scully.  He felt really bad.  She didn't need this.  Neither did Mulder.  All three were pulling double duty.  Working on the fraud case in Virginia that Skinner had put them on and secretly trying to locate Monica.  It was hard on all of them.  He walked over to Scully and startled her by putting his hand on her shoulder and pulling her in for a quick hug.  

"I'm sorry," he said, and pulled back.

"For what?"

"For dragging you into this.  This is too much.  After all you have been through."

"You didn't drag me anywhere John.  I want to find Monica just as much as you do.  So does Mulder."

Scully returned his hug just as Mulder walked in.

"Hey, are you trying to make a move on my woman, Agent Dogg-ett?"  Putting his arm around Scully, Mulder grinned at John.

John gave a small laugh.  "Yeah, well it's beyond me what she sees in you."

"Ah, so you admit it."  Although Mulder was grinning, his eyes told a different story.  Scully turned in his arms and looked up into his face.

"You found out something, didn't you?"  All teasing aside, Mulder nodded and sat down in a chair.

"What is it?"  Anxious to hear something new, John stared at Mulder.

"I got Gibson to talk while you were making out with my woman."  Sending Scully a smile, Mulder continued.  "He told me Monica's whereabouts."

"What?"  With new hope, John grabbed the phone, ready to book his flight reservations and a rental car.  "Just tell me where and-"

"Hold on there.  This won't be as easy as it looks.  She's in Los Angeles.  I did some digging around before I got here and I found out who her current partner is."

John felt like strangling him.  He knew where Monica was for awhile then, if he had time to do research on this.  Stay calm he told himself. 

Scully could see John was ready to snap so she tried to speed Mulder up.

"Who's her partner Mulder?"                                       

"A guy by the name of Special Agent Sean Ryan.  Your classic good looking guy with high ranking in his field and recommendations coming out of his ass.  Course I had to do some more checking into his background."

Mulder paused to take a sip of Scully's coffee.  

John could feel his tension span cutting short really fast.  "And?"

"This Agent is definitely not who everyone thinks he is.  Turns out there is no Special Agent Sean Ryan.  This guy transferred to the LA Field Office only three months ago.  The LA Field Office was desperate for some new agents and my guess his papers got lost in the process."

"Uh-huh.  So how does someone fool the FBI into hiring him when he isn't even an Agent?  It's next to impossible!  I mean-"

Mulder cut John off with one sharp look. 

"Not impossible for a Red Gun."

Part 17.

Monica stood in her apartment and watched the light morning rain hit her windows.  The sky was actually overcast, a first for her since she had arrived in Los Angeles almost two weeks ago.  The drumming of the rain as it beat against the glass felt soothing.  She didn't need soothing though.  She needed to be alert and productive.  Monica turned from the window and faced her apartment.  What the hell was going on?  Nothing seemed right.  She felt so out of control.  She was at a loss with the case.  The Simpson's were lying and she had no clue on how to make them open up to her.  She hadn't heard from Skinner in awhile and had no idea where she stood with her situation in DC.  Someone obviously didn't like her nosing around since her files had been stolen and the message printed on her desk.

Monica walked over to her desk and gently traced the writing that was still visible, despite her many scrubbings.  The minute she had calmed herself down that night she had dusted the desk for fingerprints and had taken a picture of the writing.  Then she spent an hour scrubbing the desk but the message was still there to remind her that she wasn't even safe in her own apartment.  

Weary, Monica headed into the kitchen for a cup of coffee.  She had to be in the office in an hour.  Reaching for her mug, the phone rang and Monica almost dropped the mug on the tile floor.  

"Get a grip!"  She told herself and grabbed for her cell phone on the counter.

"Reyes."

"Agent Reyes?" This is Lucy Simpson."

"Oh!  Is everything alright?"

"Yes…No.  I need to talk to you right away."

"All right.  Let me just call my partner and-"

"No!  Just you.  Kate doesn't trust him.  And frankly, neither do my husband and I.  We would really appreciate it if we could just speak with you."

"All right. No problem.  I can be at your house in a half hour."

"Thank you.  See you soon."

Monica clicked off the phone and set it down.  This was good.  It had to be.  She may be able to get Kate to reveal what was truly happening to her.  

The only thing was, how did she tell Agent Ryan that she had to do this alone?  What was really bizarre was she felt relieved that she couldn't be with Agent Ryan on this one.  Most of the time on this case, it felt like he was really interested in knowing everything that was going on in the case, but he didn't really want to be involved.  Just do the basic procedures and if they didn't pan out, to just move on.  In fact, as more time went by, he seemed more interested in what her next move was on the case then in trying to piece together evidence and come up with theories.  Really strange.  

Walking out of the kitchen, Monica brushed it aside and began to get ready.  Her gut instincts told her he was on her side.  She had nothing to worry about with-

"Whoa!"  It finally hit her.  The realization that nothing could be trusted anymore.  No one and no thing.  She had no one behind her to back her up.  She was alone, far from anyone she really knew.  Her life had been threatened more times in the last month than in her entire life.  And she was going to rely on her instincts?

Monica began to sob as she picked up her robe and began to twist it in her hands as she quickly paced her bedroom.  What was she going to do?  What the hell did she know about Agent Ryan anyway?  Did she even bother to do a background check on him?  No, of course not.  She had been too caught up in  being shaken by the phone call she received her last night in DC.  She was too caught up in leaving John.  And everyone she knew or cared about.

Monica suddenly stopped pacing and looked at herself in the mirror.  Really looked.  Beyond the tear stained face and the puffy eyes.  She was a woman being hunted.  By whom and by how many, she didn't know.  What she did know was that she was a fighter.  And she was going to fight back with whatever she had.  And she was going to have to be ruthless if she wanted to remain alive…and if she wanted to see John again.

Monica grabbed the phone by her bed and dialed Agent Ryan's cell phone.

"Ryan."

"Agent Ryan?  It's  Monica.  Listen, there's something I have to take care of before I come into the office today."

"Do you need some help?  I could-"

"No, thanks.  Listen, could you just get started on the background check on Terrance Fisher?"

"Yeah sure.  But I really think-"

"Thanks.  I'll see you in a bit."

Monica set the phone down and wiped her eyes.  No more emotional outbursts she thought with a smile.  She had a lot to do today and there wasn't a minute to be spared.


	10. Chapter 10

Thanks for such great feedback!   All of you rock!   And thanks for your patience!  I know I suck at updating on time…so please bare with me!  I will get it all up here soon!

Part 18.

John stared at the computer screen as he thought of different ways to break Agent Ryan's neck.  Or rather the nameless Red Gun impersonating an FBI Agent.  He stared at Agent Ryan's cocky grin for another few seconds and clicked the database shut.  Leaning back in his chair, John stretched his arms and rested them behind his head.  So he knew where she was.  The question was, how to get to her?  If Agent Skinner found out that he knew her location, he would try every mean to stop him.  And anyone else in LA who knew why Monica was there and had been in on her secret transfer.  Not to mention whoever it was that was after her.  These Red Guns, which seemed bogus to him.  Then again, he had witnessed a super soldier in action so why shouldn't he believe Mulder's insane theory about Agent Ryan?  And also this thing about astral projection.  How was that connected?

What he needed was information.  And he wasn't going to get it from a computer.

John got up and left his office on a mission.  He took the elevator and walked up to Skinner's office.  His secretary wasn't at her desk so John just knocked.

"Come in."

John entered to find Skinner going through some paperwork.  He looked stressed and tired.  John barely acknowledged his condition as he sat in a chair in front of Skinner's desk.

"Sir, I need to run something by you."

"Okay, what's going on?"

"Well actually, I need to ask you something.  Something...that means a lot to me.  I know you have been sworn to secrecy about this, and I understand.  But I-"

Skinner knew exactly where John was going with this.  "Agent, I understand what a difficult position you are in but I can't reveal what happened to Agent Reyes.  Or where she is.  It's for her own protection, as well as yours.  Please believe me."

"Look, I know you think you're doing what's best for all of us but I don't see how keeping me in the dark is going to help anything. I know that whoever these people are-"

"You don't know what you're talking about Agent Doggett.  Stay out of it!"

John stood up and calmly leaned over Skinner's desk and looked down at Skinner.  "Actually, I think I know something.  Some people, who could be called aliens, go by the name of Red Guns and are after Monica.  You must have found out she was being hunted and warned her to leave immediately. The quieter, the better.  Am I right?"

Skinner stared up at John for one second before he stood up and faced John at eye level.  "Look, I don't know where you got this information…on second thought I do.  But listen to me very carefully.  You, Mulder and Scully are all skating on some very thin ice here.  You're involving yourselves in something extremely lethal.  Something that could go very wrong, very quickly.  Do you catch my drift?

"Oh yeah, I catch your drift.  So here's mine.  The woman I really care about is out there in Los Angeles fighting against God knows what.  You say you have everything under control but are you sure?  Because you are chancing Monica's life with people who probably have no clue as to what they are up against.  Am I right Sir?

Skinner sat down and took off his glasses to wearily rub his eyes.  He closed his eyes a second and then put his glasses back on and looked at John, who had sat down again and was staring at him.  

"Okay Agent.  What do you want to do then?  You want to march into LA with guns blazing? Because you know as well as I do that that is not the way we should be handling these Red Guns."

Trying to keep his hope at bay, John said, "So I'm right about these people after her being Red Guns."

"Yes."

"Okay, now why don't you tell me how they threatened Monica and made her run as fast as she could to LA."

Taking a deep breathe, Skinner said, "  The night she left I got an urgent call from someone anonymous.  This person told me that a very dangerous force called Red Guns were forming and they were going after a Special Agent Monica Reyes.  I was a little concerned but for the most part I brushed off the call.  It just seemed like some sick joke.  And you know as well as I do that we do get strange calls similar to that often.  People threatening us or people trying to make themselves look like heroes."

John nodded to urge him to go on.

"So I brushed it off but I kept getting this nagging feeling that something wasn't right.  All four of you weren't working on any cases as far as I knew because you hadn't been officially reinstated into the FBI yet.  But I called Agent Reyes just to make sure nothing was going on that shouldn't have been.  When I got through to her, she sounded very distant, as if in shock.  After I explained the call I had received, she had begun to say,  'Oh my God,' over and over.   I hung up and went over to her apartment immediately.  I didn't call you or Mulder and Scully because I thought you already knew and were with her.  When I arrived, I found her door wide open and Monica staring out of her living room window.  She had turned around and said, 'I have to go.  If I don't go, they'll find me.'  I remember I kept asking her who was after her but she just kept shaking her head.  She made me promise not to tell you, Scully and Mulder anything.  So I arranged for her to fly anonymously and be transferred to LA quietly.  Assistant Director Stevens is an old friend of mine and he promised to make her very low profile.  I have been keeping in contact with her but she says very little.  I don't know what these Red Guns are capable of, where they are and why they want Monica.  I also don't know who contacted her and what spooked her enough to want to run.  But she did."

John felt sick.  Sick with worry and sick with anger that Monica didn't turn to him when she was in trouble.  

John stood up and so did Skinner.

"John, if you go out there, you could very well get her killed.  I don't know what kind of power these Red Guns have, or why they need her.  But she's scared and that's enough proof for me that one wrong move could get her killed."

John nodded and looked at the door.  He needed time to sort this out and to come up with a plan of his own.   Suddenly he turned around and said ,"What about astral projection?"

"Astral projection?  What are you talking about?"

John was about to tell him about the note he had found in his desk when he realized Skinner didn't have a clue as to what he was talking about.  He'd think about it later.  He had enough to deal with right now.

Part 19.

Precisely a half an hour later Monica knocked on the door of the Simpson's home.  She had hardly knocked when the door swung open and a wide eyed woman answered the door.

"Mrs. Simpson, I-"

Lucy grabbed her arm and almost yanked Monica inside and slammed the door.  She hustled Monica down a narrow hallway that opened up to a huge family room.  Gesturing to the couch, Lucy turned around and yelled for her husband and daughter.

Monica sat down on the long couch, a little overwhelmed and not sure as to what she should say.  Before she could open her mouth, Kate and her dad, Seth, walked in and stood next to Lucy.  All three looked at each other before dispersing themselves around the room.  Kate sat next to her mom on the love seat and her dad sat in the easy chair that faced Monica.  

Monica wasn't sure if she was suppose to start talking so she glanced at all of them and turned to Lucy.

"Mrs. Simpson, I-"

"Lucy."

Monica smiled and tried again.  "Lucy, you said you didn't want my partner to hear this because you didn't trust him.  Can I ask why?"

Kate answered for her mother.  "He's one of the bad guys."

"He's one of the bad guys that are forcing you to astro project yourself?"

All three stared at her for a second before Seth said, "How did you know?"

Monica didn't actually know herself.  It just came to her at that instant.  It all began to make sense.  Kate was actually innocent like Monica had thought all along.  Kate was only at the crime scenes because there was a force that was manipulating her into stealing from these jewelry stores.

"They're manipulating you."  Monica pondered this for a second and then continued with, "But why manipulate Kate into stealing from jewelry stores?"

Before they could answer, Monica answered her own question. "Because it's a test to see if they have complete control over Kate when they put her 'under'."

Kate looked at her mom, who squeezed her hand.

Lucy looked over at Monica, her eyes pleading.  "But who are these people?"

Monica just shook her head in bewilderment.   Super soldiers?  Maybe.  But from her own experiences, this was not how the super soldiers operated.  Then again, super soldiers could not be trusted to do anything the way one might expect.  

Monica stood up and crossed the room and kneeled in front of Kate.  Taking her hand, Monica asked her what it felt like when she was astro projecting herself.

"Ummm…it feels weird.  Most of the time I don't remember any of it.  Almost like sleep walking.  People say they have seen me doing things I don't remember doing."  Glancing at her mom, Kate's lower lip started to quiver and she looked about ready to cry.

"Why would someone do this?  I would never steal.  I don't want to go to jail.  I just want this to go away but…I don't know how to stop it."

Kate began to cry and her mom put her arms around her.  Monica still held onto Kate's hand and Kate grasped it like she never wanted to let go. 

After a moment Monica gently pried her hand away and stood up.  Thinking she had better go, she looked over at Seth.

Seth stood up, and bending down to kiss Kate's temple, he led Monica out of the room.

They walked through the hallway in silence and when they reached the front door, Seth turned around.  With worry written all over his face, he nervously twisted his hands together.

"Agent Reyes, what should we do?"

"I honestly don't know what to tell you right now.  I need to look into this.  But for right now, just remain strong for Kate.  The police may think they have their suspect but they can't do anything about it because they have no evidence.  Because this is astro projection we're dealing with, Kate is leaving no fingerprints.  Videos are looking very sketchy and the cops know they don't have any damning evidence."

"This is just incredible!  She's just an innocent little girl!  Why would someone do this?"

"I'm sorry sir.  I have no idea.  But I will soon, trust me."

Seth nodded and opened the door for her.

Monica walked to her car and got in.  Looking at the house, she saw Kate at one of the front windows waving to her with a tear stricken face.

Monica waved back and silently vowed to stop these people from hurting Kate and her family any more than they already have.


	11. Chapter 11

Part 20.

John walked back to his office after his conversation with Skinner.  Theories and names swam around in his head as he tried to sort out details.  Somehow he had to come up with a way to get to Monica without alerting these Red Guns that he was onto them.

John swung open the office door and Scully and Mulder looked over quickly at the brooding agent.  Scully was sitting at Monica's desk and Mulder was leaning over her.  Seeing the blush that was creeping up over Scully's face, John didn't even want to know what Mulder had been whispering to her.

Regaining her composure, Scully pushed Mulder away and straightened in her chair.  She looked at John as John sat down at his desk.  Mulder leaned on Monica's desk and crossed his arms.  He had been doing that pose a lot lately in the office.  Of course, he had no desk at the moment.  All three stared at each other until Mulder finally spoke.

"So where have you been?  I thought we were meeting here an hour ago."

"Yeah, we were.  But I decided to speed things up by questioning Skinner on what he knew."  

Mulder laughed.  "Yeah, and after he finished bull shitting you, you should have been back here within thirty minutes ago."

John sat back in his chair and stared coolly at Mulder's smug face.

Recognizing male testosterone at war, Scully quickly jumped in the heated battle.

"Look, before the two of you decide to start a wrestling match, can we just go over the facts here?"

John still stared at Mulder as he said blatantly, "Oh, no need for that.  Besides, Skinner's told me everything he knows."

Mulder's mouth dropped open in shock but he quickly regained composure as he stared down at his shoes.  John had to give him credit for his fast recovery.  

John continued on with what he had found out.  Scully and Mulder listened and when John had finished, Scully jumped up and let everything sink in.  Stepping over Mulder's feet, Scully turned to look at John.

"Okay, now we need to find a way to secretly get you to LA.  Monica needs to be warned."

"Exactly what I was thinking."

Scully nodded and paced a bit.  Both men watched her, practically seeing the wheels turning in her head.

"And it can only be you, at least at first.  Mulder and I are still well known around here for obvious reasons," Scully sighed wearily at that, "so it seems wise that you go alone so your disappearance won't be noticed quite as easily."

John nodded and tapped a pen on his blotter.  "But what about when people do begin to realize?"

Mulder stood up and stood next to Scully, putting his arm around her shoulders.  "We make up some story about the case needing your immediate attention in Virginia for a few days.  The cover will get blown eventually but will at least buy us some time.  In the meantime, Scully and I will do some more checking into the case, just to make sure no one gets suspicious that," Mulder went and sat down in Scully's vacated chair and put his arms behind his head, "we're getting lazy down here."

"Ha!  You lazy?  Now who the hell would think that?"  Scully sat down on his lap and put her hand over his mouth before Mulder could come up with some snide comment.  Mulder eyes lit up.  Scully would never have been so flirtatious with him a year ago.

John grinned at the couple and thought this was good time for him to leave and start making travel arrangements.

Just as John was about to walk out the door, Scully said, "How are we going to get around Skinner on this?  He'll never allow you to go and he can definitely stop us if he wants to."

John turned toward them and leaned against the doorway.  "Yeah, I've thought about that.  He really thinks Monica's okay out there because he's 'looking into things' here.  He really doesn't know what danger she's in and he's trying to blindside that.  He thinks he'll be able to bring her back here safely because she's one of his 'agents.'  But he really has no idea of what he's up against.  That's what scares me the most.  The unknowing."

Knowing all to well what he was going through, Mulder and Scully sent him sympathetic looks.

Mulder looked at Doggett with a newfound admiration for the man and said, "We'll get you to her.  Count on it."

Part 21.

"What the hell do you think you're doing?"

Monica looked up from her desk and saw Agent Ryan at the door to their office.  He had both of his hands braced in the doorway and his face was red with anger.

"What's wrong?"

Ignoring her, Agent Ryan walked into the room and calmly shut the door. Too calmly, Monica thought, for the murder he looked like he wanted to commit.  Turning around slowly he said, "I thought, as partners, we would be working together.  We would share information, share theories, and evidence."

"What-"

"As partners, I thought I could trust you to back me up.  To share what you know."

Monica stayed silent during his pause, letting Agent Ryan get whatever he had to say out in the open.  

"And then I hear you went behind my back.  Well, let me tell you something."

Leaning over her desk, he looked Monica square in the eyes.  She felt very nervous at how empty his eyes looked.  The coldness.  All she could do was stare into them.  "I don't tolerate partners who aren't trustworthy.  When I find out they go behind me back, I get pissed off.  And then bad things start to happen.  Very bad.  Do you catch my drift, gorgeous?"

Monica was too stunned to speak.  Before she could work on an answer, Agent Ryan stood up and brushed off his slacks. He then calmly walked out of the office, closing the office door softly behind him.

Had she just been threatened?  What the hell?  A little shaky, Monica stood up and walked to the window that looked out over Los Angeles.  So he must have found out about her meeting with the Simpson's this morning.  But how?  She hadn't told anyone.  Had someone followed her?  Had Agent Ryan followed her?

As much as she wanted to go kick his ass for speaking to her like that, he did have a point.  She was suppose to share everything with him.  Share anything that would help the case.  

But what if telling him didn't help the case?  She felt fairly certain that there was something very different about him.  Something that scared her.  She had never felt this way around another FBI agent or police officer before.  So what was it that made her nervous around him?  She had gone through his background over and over but nothing stood out.  His papers just basically said he was a pompous ass with recommendations all over the place.

Shaking off her questions, Monica decided to put him aside for right now.  She had some follow ups to do at the last crime scene and she needed to get outside for awhile before she wondered herself into craziness.

Monica walked out of the building, carefully avoiding any signs of Agent Ryan.  She probably should have told him where she was going, but at this point Monica could care less if he got more pissed off.  Besides, he knew this needed to be done and if he wanted her reports on it later, he could come find her and get them.  

Feeling better about the situation, Monica navigated around LA toward the jewelry store.  Seeing the sign for it, Monica pulled in and turned off the engine.  Staring at the building for a moment, she could see the yellow police tape over the doorway.  No civilians were allowed access until tomorrow.  This was a long time for a crime scene to be taped off just for a robbery, but this wasn't a normal robbery and the local police were feeling uneasy about releasing the place back to the owners.  Monica didn't blame them.

Monica got out of her car and walked gingerly around the markers on the ground toward the entrance.  Gently pushing the door open so not to disturb the tape, Monica entered the building.  

"Hello?"

Monica figured she was alone since there were no cars parked outside.  But it never hurt to check.  Satisfied when no one answered her, Monica set out to work.  Kate had told her where she had thought she had entered.  The door behind the cash register.  Which was unusual because it was kept locked at all times and only the owners carried the keys.  Monica went up to the door and was surprised when it turned easily in her hand.  Pushing the door open, Monica peered inside the dark room.  There was suppose to be another door at the other end.  She knew from the owners that this was where the merchandise was brought in to be inspected before being displayed.  It was quiet chilly and Monica resisted the urge to rub some warmth back into her arms.  Finding her flashlight, she flicked the switch.  Immediately to her right she could see the huge vaults.  There were three of them and about seven feet tall, she estimated.  Monica swiveled around and looked to the other side.  Work tables were set up with lamps and all sorts of tools.  

Monica stepped closer to get a better look at the tools when she heard a rustling sound behind her.  Heart caught in her throat, Monica whipped around. Nothing there.  Just her imagination running wild.  Taking a deep breathe, Monica turned around to look at the work stations.  

There it was a gain.  That sound.  Almost like a candy wrapper being rubbed over and over.

"Is someone there?  I'm Special Agent Monica Reyes and-"

She saw the figure dressed in all black by the second vault. 

"Stop right there and put up your hands where I can see them!"

Drawing her gun up, she pointed it at the figure who remained still and stared at her.

"I said, put-"

Something hit her on the head and she fell into complete darkness.  


	12. Chapter 12

Part 21.

Late that same night John was in his bedroom, throwing things into a duffel bag.   He had a red eye flight leaving Washington DC at 1:18 am.  Only two hours from now.

 Keeping an eye on the clock, John finished packing and walked to the front of the house, making sure the house was locked up tight. 

Just as he was walking out the front door, Mulder ran up the walkway with a manila envelope in his hand. 

"Mulder?  I thought we were meeting at Scully's place."

"Yeah, about that.  Look, I don't want Scully involved any more than she is.  It hasn't been very long since our discovery in New Mexico and she's so exhausted."

Mulder glanced away for a second to recollect his thoughts.

Still staring up at the starry night, Mulder continued, "I just worry about her.  She says she's okay, but she's lying.  She's frightened at how easily we were accepted back into the FBI, into the X-Files."

Mulder paused for a moment and then looked back John.  "But Monica comes first.  We'll worry about our future when the four of us are able to kick back with a couple of beers and complain how meaningless our lives have become."

John laughed and they shook hands.

Handing John the envelope, Mulder began to walk with John toward the driveway where a taxi was waiting for John.

"Everything you need is in that envelope.  And don't even ask where I got it.  You don't want to know."

John laughed, "No, probably not.  I appreciate this, I really do."

"Hey we're partners.  Still haven't decided if I like you yet, but regardless, we're partners."

They grinned at each other and before John could climb into the taxi, Mulder said, "We got Skinman covered.  And Gibson's staying with us for awhile.  Give us a ring when you land so we can touch base.  And don't you dare tell Scully what I said about her!"

John waved at him in response and shook his head in amusement as his taxi pulled away.

At the airport John showed his doctored identification and made it onto the plane just in time.  The plane wasn't very full and John knew he should probably try and catch some sleep because he'd probably have little time for it once he landed.

 But he couldn't.  He kept seeing Monica's face when he closed his eyes.  And she looked scared.  Hurt.

Okay, he had to get a grip.  This wasn't going to help any.  He would just have to find her as fast as he could once he landed, to see for himself that she was safe and okay.

He pulled out the manila envelope where, besides the fake ID, was research and photos on Knowle Rohrer and other possible Red Guns.  Of course, the Red Guns could all be new faces but if Knowle Rohrer was able to resurface as a different alien race, then couldn't the other super soldiers as well?

He studied the information until his brain finally shut down and he fell fast asleep.  The next thing he knew the plane was descending and the other few passengers onboard were buckling up.  John quickly stuffed all of his things into the duffel and fastened his seatbelt as well.

Once through the gate, John flagged down a taxi and told the driver to take him to the Best Western motel that was situated between the FBI building and the coast. 

Once there, John checked in and went to his room.  Ignoring the view, he threw his duffel on the bed and picked up the phone.

On the third ring, Scully answered.

"Scully."

"Scully?  It's John."

"John?  Oh thank God.  Something's happened.  We're not sure what it is though.  Skinner just came into the office and said AD Stevens contacted him.  He can't get in touch with Monica.  No one can.  She was out on an assignment but no one knows for sure where she went and her partner is going crazy trying to locate her."

John's hand tightened on the receiver as a million of frightening possibilities raced through his mind.

"John?"

"Ye-Yeah I'm here.  Dammit.  And I can't very well just march into the building and join the search.  I'd get stopped before I could step one foot inside the building."

"Yes, I know.  And Skinner could have you fired for disobeying orders…"  Scully's voice trailed off.

"So what's your first step?"

"I think I'm going to stake out her apartment, see if I can see any signs of her.  Then maybe talk to some neighbors, see if they can give me anything to go off of.  If she's really missing, it won't be long before the FBI is swarming the place with an investigation.  I better get anything I can right now."

"Sounds good.  Mulder and I have already gathered quite a bit of evidence for our case in Virginia.  We're going to head up and let it be known around the building that you're already there.  Keep in touch John.  I mean it."

"You got it.  And thanks."

Scully smiled and clicked off her cell.

Part 22.

So much pain.  She could hardly move.  And it was cold.  So cold.  Her head hurt the worse and it felt like someone was taking a hammer to it. 

"Ugh."  It took all of her strength to push herself up into a sitting position.  Groggily she looked around her, but didn't recognize anything.  It looked like some kind of basement.  But Californians didn't have basements, did they?   Hearing a noise to her right, Monica instinctively reached down for her gun.  It was gone.  She groaned inwardly and struggled to stand up. 

Once she was standing, she swayed a bit.  How long had she been out? 

And where the hell was she?

The room was dark but there was a window on the opposite wall.  The moon gave her some light as she made her way toward it. 

"Shit," she whispered.  She was never going to fit through that window.  It was barely big enough for a child to squeeze through.

But it was the only way out as far as she could tell.  Monica began to stack some boxes up against the window so she could reach it.   Her investigative instinct taking over, Monica paused to quickly look through the boxes that she had moved.  Books on the Civil War?  She wanted to look more into it, but her body was about to collapse from exhaustion and her vision was beginning to waver again.  She had to get out now. 

Gritting her teeth, Monica hauled herself up the boxes until she was face to face with the window.  Unlatching it, she slowly pushed it out so not to make any noise.  Listening for a second, she only heard frogs croaking and owls hooting in the night sky.  Animals, but no people.  Or aliens, she thought with an exasperated chuckle.

Inch by inch Monica yanked herself through the tiny slit and knew her body would never forgive her.  Grimacing with excruciating pain, Monica pulled her legs out and the window slammed shut. 

She rested on the wet grass for a moment before crawling towards the nearest tree.  She didn't know who was around and the tree seemed like a good hiding spot.  God, she was delirious if she actually thought the tree would shield her. 

When she reached the tree, she slumped down and sat against it.  For the first time she could feel the blood on her face.  Gently, she put her hand where the core of the pain was on the back of her head.  Wincing, she drew it away and stared at her hand covered in blood. 

"Great. Just great."

Okay, she needed to come up with a plan to get out of here, wherever the hell 'here' was. 

Slowly hauling herself to her feet, she glanced around.  Woods.  All around.  Panic began to slowly creep up as she looked.  How to get out?  She seemed to be standing in a small meadow.  And the house she had just crawled out of was situated right in the middle of this meadow.

Was she still in California?  She might not be.  Turning her watch toward the light of the moon, Monica saw it was only eleven o'clock at night.  She had been out cold for six hours.  Enough time to get her across the border into Nevada.  Or anywhere if they had used a plane. 

And why didn't her assailments make themselves known?  With her experience as an FBI agent, she knew they hadn't just let her go.  They were watching her.  And they wouldn't make it easy for her to get away.

 Scanning the house, Monica looked for movement but saw none.

Okay, where to run?  All of the woods looked the same and John wasn't here to give her his mocking lecture of how to determine where North, South, East and West were. 

Monica smiled at the fond memory of him trying to teach her and her smile froze on her face when she saw a man standing outside at the corner of the house.  He was half hidden in the darkness but the moon illuminated his right leg and the right side of his face.

Knowle Rohrer.

"You bastard."  Monica whispered as she stared at him.  Knowle made no move toward her.  He just simply watched her.  And that scared Monica more than anything.

Move.  She had to move.  Monica turned away from him and began to half limp, half run towards the woods.  She kept running, as fast as her body could manage.  She thought she heard laughter behind her but she ignored it and pressed on. Reaching the edge of the woods, Monica threw herself into the shield of trees and kept going.

Her whole body ached and her leg muscles screamed as she dodged around stumps and rocks.  Blood ran down her legs from gashes she had mysteriously received while knocked out.  Her head felt like it was ready to roll off and she was incredibly thirsty.

Monica ran for another twenty minutes before collapsing by a stream. Leaning down, she scooped up icy water and gulped it down.  Relief settled over her as the water trickled down and soothed her burning throat.  

Once she had had enough water, Monica sat up and looked around.  She had no idea which direction she was going.  Maybe it didn't matter since she didn't hear any crashing sounds of footsteps coming towards her.  Not yet anyway.  She had to keep moving.

But she was so tired.  And she felt like someone had run over her with their car, backed up and run over her again.

Monica laughed at the stupidity of that thought.  At the whole situation.  She had been in far worse.  So maybe she had had someone with her before, but she could handle this one on her own. 

 Monica got up and began to painfully jog again through the dark trees. She would make it out alive.

Or she'd die trying.


	13. Chapter 13

Part 23.

It was four thirty in the morning and John was about to lose his mind.  There had been no sign of Monica.  He was really worried and the only thing that kept him from charging up to her apartment to see if she was there was the fact that he may not be the only one watching her apartment.  And if he was found out, he didn't want to put Monica in any more jeopardy than she was already in. 

He'd been watching her apartment for seven hours now and there had been no movement or light coming through her windows.  He kept reassuring himself that it could mean anything.  She could have gone on an assignment and the AD just hadn't been informed where that might be.  Or she could be with a friend.  Or she could be …out. 

Jealousy surged through him before he shook it off and picked up a sheet pf paper off the passenger seat.  Now was not the time to get jealous.  Besides, he had no idea if she was even remotely interested in him…in that way. 

He'd worry about this crap once he knew she was safe.

Reading the information he had written down, John wished Mulder was here so he could gloat about his manipulation skills.  He thought he had done a pretty good job with sweet talking the landlord into giving him Monica's apartment number and location of her apartment from the streets. This wasn't usually how he operated but he was nearing desperation.  He hadn't wanted to enter the apartment building yet, in case he gave away his cover.  So some fast talking was needed.  He was finally getting the hang of this damn job!  He had almost kissed her the time she had said that to him.   But they had been interrupted and the moment had been lost.  There had been other times he had felt the need to take her in his arms but something had always stopped him.  He was almost positive Monica felt the exact same way…but they had never said anything to each other. 

Well, that would change.  Once she was back in DC again, they would have some serious talking to do.

John perked up in his seat when a dark Mercedes rolled down the street past him.  That had been the third time he had seen that car within the last half hour.  What the hell was going on?  Was the driver casing out Monica's apartment building?  Or another one?  There were several apartment buildings scattered along the block, with little specialty shops between them.  Maybe the car wasn't casing at all.  He or she could just be lost. 

John doubted it.

He reached behind him in his rental car and yanked his binoculars out of a bag.  Then he waited, his eyes darting all over the streets for a sign of the Mercedes.

Sure enough, fifteen minutes later it slowly rolled down the street toward him.  John lifted his night vision binoculars and wasn't all that surprised to see who was in the passenger seat.

Special Agent Sean Ryan.

But who the hell was the driver?  He recognized that face from somewhere.  Mentally cataloging the driver's description, John jotted down the license plate of the car.

As the car rolled by him, John didn't move and kept his eyes forward.  He wasn't parked under a street lamp so it should be very difficult for them to see him; much less suspect someone was in the car. 

Once the Mercedes had turned the corner, John flipped through the photos of possible Red Guns.  On the fourth page he hit a bull's eye.

Terrance Fisher.

"Son of a bitch."

Part 24.

Despite the cold, Monica felt the sun creeping up into the sky and peeking through the trees.  With her eyes still closed, she rolled slightly until she found a spot where the sun had already warmed. 

Sometime in the early hours of the morning Monica had collapsed with exhaustion.   She didn't remember when she fell or how far she had managed to get.  Everything was a blur.

Slowly opening her eyes, she squinted around her, trying to get her bearings.  Like it helped much, she thought sarcastically.  She was still in the middle of some forest and more confused as ever.  Everything looked the same and she could have been running in circles last night for all she knew.

Bleakly, Monica stood up and immediately regretted it.  She still felt so much pain.  Every muscle was sore beyond belief and there were cuts all over her face and arms. 

Some, she thought with disgust, which might need stitches.

Looking down, she grimaced at her blood and dirt covered suit.   Her feet were tore up and blistered.  She had kicked off her heels immediately after running from the house because there was no way she was going to run in heels. 

She didn't even remember slicing her feet on branches and rocks. 

She was  not feeling sorry for herself.  She was still alive and that's what counted.

But why was she still alive?  And why hadn't anyone come after her?  Surely they were at a greater advantage than her.  So why let her go?  Maybe they thought a few nights running scared in the forest would frighten her to death.  Or maybe they were coming after her; they just didn't want her to know it.

Time to get moving.  She walked slowly in a circle, listening for anything she might recognize. But she didn't hear any sounds of human civilization.

"Well, Reyes, which way to go?"

Her own voice startled her for a second and she took that adrenaline and began to walk. 

She prayed she wasn't retracing her steps from last night.  She had no idea which direction she had come from and there was a slim to none chance that she would recognize anything she had passed.  She had been in such a daze and it had been so dark to actually notice her surroundings last night.

Monica walked for about an hour.  Most of her pain had gone numb and all she could manage to do was look straight ahead and try not to notice how her feet were getting more swollen by the minute.  She didn't even falter when little rocks worked their way into the gashes on her feet or the branches that scraped along the open wounds. 

She just pressed on with determination.

About four hours later that determination was almost gone.  It was late afternoon and the chill was starting to settle in again.  Rubbing her hands up and down her arms for warmth, Monica kept moving.  The good thing was she probably had picked the right direction because she was no where near the house.   The bad thing was she had no idea where she was.  She could be walking deeper and deeper into the forest.  And further and further away from civilization.

What she wouldn't give for her cell phone right now.  Or some food, she thought, rubbing a hand over her rumbling stomach.  She hadn't eaten since yesterday morning. 

And she was extremely thirsty.  She hadn't heard any sounds of water all day and no sign of berries or anything she thought might be edible.

"Well, well, well."

Monica whipped around at the sound of the voice and was shocked to see five men standing not fifteen feet from her.  All of them stood staring at her with blank faces.  The only who was smirking just a bit was the third man to the right.

He stepped forward and grinned at her.

"So, how has our little paradise been treating you?"

Monica could just stare at him with horror.

He looked her up and down slowly.

"Not very good, from what I can tell.  Well, that's what you get for running off."

He took another step closer.  And another.  And another, until he was right in front of her. 

Monica still had not moved.  She was so still that she wasn't even sure if she was still taking in oxygen.

He smiled at her again and said in threatening tone, "You didn't actually think you would make it out of here, did you?"

That broke the trance that had come over her.

"And why not?  I could have, and all of you would have been left standing here with your feet in your mouths, you no-good, fucking sons of bitches!"

That wiped his grin right off his face.

In a low tone so she could only hear, he said, "Look, you don't know who you're dealing with here.  Or what power we hold over you at this very instant.  I could snap your neck like this," he snapped his fingers and Monica flinched, "and you'd never know what hit you."

"Then why don't you?"

"Because we have a special project that is in need of someone with your expertise."

Monica stared at him for what seemed like an eternity.  Then she stepped back.

"Like hell."

And she turned around and ran like mad thought the trees, not stopping to see if they were right behind her.


	14. Chapter 14

Part 25.

John stared out his windshield and wearily rubbed a hand over his gritty eyes.  It was seven o'clock in the morning and he was in desperate need of some coffee.  He looked up at Monica's apartment building and sighed.  She hadn't come home.  He didn't know of he should be worried or relieved, considering the fact that the Mercedes had passed by twice more after John had written down the license plate number and identified Agent Sean Ryan.

He stared up the street, as if daring the Mercedes to come roaring past him again.

Suddenly, his cell phone rang.  John reached over to the passenger seat and couldn't see the phone.  He rummaged through the surveillance equipment and then saw it wedged between the seats.

"For crying out loud."

He finally freed it and snapped it open.

"Doggett."

"Hey Dogg-ett, where are you?"

"Disneyland.  Where the hell do you think I am?"

"Ah, no sign of her at her apartment then huh?"

"No, nothing.  Which could be good or bad."

John then told Mulder about the Mercedes and read the info he had written down about the car.

"Okay, I'll run this through and see what I can whip up."

"Thanks.  I appreciate it."

"Oh wait, Scully just walked in."

John listened to Mulder repeat to Scully what John had told him.  While listening, John scanned the nearly deserted streets.  He guessed just about everyone was smart enough to sleep in on Saturdays.  He used to do that, a lifetime ago.

"Okay, so we're gonna check up on this."

"What?  Oh yeah.  Thanks."

"We've nearly finished with the case in Virginia.  Which is bad for you, my friend.  Skinner's been asking where you are and Scully's been giving him sexual favors to distract him."

"MULDER!"

John laughed as he heard Scully slap Mulder with paper.

With humor, Mulder said, "All right, I better go before Scully decides to pour coffee on my head.  Keep us informed."  And then Mulder hung up.

Setting down the cell, John started up the car.  He needed to go shower and catch some sleep so he could refresh his mind.

Driving through the deserted streets, John kept an eye out for the Mercedes but there was no sign of it.

Finally he pulled up in front of his motel room and, exhausted, dragged himself into his room and fell on top of his bed without even taking off his shoes first.

What seemed like five minutes later John heard his cell go off.

Opening one eye, John saw that he had been asleep for an hour.

"Damn it," he grumbled as he got up and blindly reached out for his cell.

"Doggett," he said sharply into the phone.

There was some static but no voice.  John was about to hang up when Monica jumped into his mind.

"Hello?"

Silence.

"Anyone there?"

Silence.

"Monica?" he asked softly.

More silence and then a faint, "John?"

"Monica?"

John jumped off the bed and ran his hand though his hair in worry.

"Monica, are you okay?  Monica?"

Silence.

"Monica?  Where are you?  Are you hurt?  Tell me where you are."

Faintly he heard a sob and then the phone went dead.

John put down the cell phone and stared at it with terror.

Part 26.

Monica was still gripping the phone, although it was so slicked with blood that she was finding it hard to keep it in her grasp.  She listened to the silence that had enveloped her after hearing John's voice.

Oh God, she couldn't believe she had gotten to hear his voice one last time.  And that would be the last time.  She was sure of it as she looked around the small kitchen.  All the lights had been shut off when the power had gone out, ending her ability to see much of anything… and the chance to actually say good bye to John.

Slowly she dropped the phone and watched it clatter to the floor.  In a daze, Monica used the wall to help support her weight as she stood up from her crouching position on the hard linoleum floor.  She had dropped like a bullet when the electricity had gone off.

Limping, Monica made her way through the kitchen and out the back door into the afternoon sun. 

Stepping off the back steps and looking around, she walked around the outside of the small cabin.

It had only been an hour since her run-in with the super soldiers.  She had run through the trees as if her life had depended on it.  And it had depended on it, she thought, as she scanned the trees for movement. 

She realized she was a sitting duck in plain view but she figured there was little she could do to hide from these men.  So what was the use of hiding in dark corners? 

The key was to keep moving.

Still, she had been surprised when she spotted the cabin, and even more surprised not to see any super soldiers following her through the trees or waiting for her at the cabin. 

It could have been a trap, letting her find this cabin.  But she didn't care.  She'd given up just about all hope of coming out of this alive.  All that mattered was talking to John one last time.

And so she had walked in, and hearing no one else in the cabin, ran to the phone.  But just as soon as John had had answered his cell, the phone had gone haywire and then had gone dead.

"Damn it!"                

Hysterical, Monica kicked the garage door of the cabin. 

And screamed in agony as her swollen foot became even more engulfed in pain.

After the first initial scream Monica had to bite her tongue really hard to keep from screaming more.  If she hadn't already announced her arrival to the super soldiers, surely a few more screams would have them all arriving within seconds.

Just what she needed.

But wait, there was already someone here.  Someone had to of cut the electricity.  And with such perfect timing, she thought with utter disgust.  Just enough to say one word to John before being cut off.

She really wished she had a weapon.  Grabbing a piece of firewood, Monica entered the cabin.  She didn't care how ridiculous she looked with the firewood held out in front of her.  If all she could do was clobber the super soldier with wood to defend herself, then so be it. 

But she prayed that it was a perpetrator because she didn't have any needles handy to stab any super soldiers in the back of the neck.

She walked the perimeter of the first floor and slowly climbed up the stairs.

Turning to her right, she saw two bedrooms.  Looking into both of them, she saw nothing.

Monica then walked to the left of the staircase and into a little storage room.

And was shocked at who she saw standing by the small window at the far side of the room.

"Kate?"


	15. Chapter 15

Part 27.

John sat in his car, drumming his fingers on the steering wheel.  He wanted to be in action, doing something, anything, to help bring Monica back.

But he was forced to wait it out.  At least until he received the call.

He looked over at the passenger seat and stared at the cell phone.  Damn it, it was like waiting for a pot to boil.  Or whatever that stupid saying was.

John tore his eyes away from the phone and glanced out the windshield.  He was parked outside the FBI LA Field office.  Craning his neck, he looked up toward the top of the building. 

Somewhere in that building Monica had tried to start a new life. 

With a new partner.

Completely shutting him out. 

Well, after this was done, she was never leaving him in the dark again. They were never leaving each other, period.

Whoa!  Where the hell did that come from?  He never before saw them as...being together forever.  But now, because he may have lost her, he finally knew what she meant to him.  It seemed perfect to spend the rest of his life with her.  She was everything he had ever wanted in life.  Companionship, intelligence, sense of humor, beauty...she had it all.  She was everything to him.  And he would prove it once she was in his arms, safe and yelling at him for laying on the testosterone a little too thick.  His heart warmed at the thought of her telling him just exactly what she thought about his plans on keeping her tucked safely away from all the harm in the world.  Unrealistic and stupid…but hell, he was in love!  He was in love with Monica.  He was surprised that he wasn't nervous or scared by declaring it to himself.  He felt at ease with it, as if he'd known it all along.

John's grin froze on his face when his cell phone rang.  He quickly grabbed it as he stared at the front entrance of the building.

"Doggett."

"Agent Doggett, I'm not going to tell you how stupid you are.  Or how very close I am to removing you from this office so you can be someone else's problem. 

"Thank you sir."

"What I am going to tell you is you are cleared to walk into the LA Field Office to speak with Assistant Director Stevens."

"Thank you sir."

"Oh bullshit.  I know you would have gone in there already if it hadn't been for the tight security I had placed around Monica."

There was a pause.

"A lot of good it did though."

"Sir, it's not your fault.  These fucking bastards would have found a way to reach her no matter what security had been placed around her.  They wanted her and now they have her.  Simple as that"

"Be that as it may, I have a responsibility to her.  Bring her back John."

"I will sir, count on it."

"I know I can.  Mulder and Scully are on their way right now.  I'm sure they'll contact you when the land in LA.  Keep me informed.  I mean it John."

"You got it Sir."

John put down the cell and got out of the car.

He entered the building and, after ten minutes of going through security, John was let in. 

He went up to the Assistant Director's office and almost jogged toward the secretary.

Giving John a flirtatious smile, she said, "Hello, what can I do for you?"

In no mood for games, John quickly said, "I need to see the Assistant Director."

Hurt by his lack of interest in her, she rolled her eyes and said, "Name?"

"John Doggett."

The secretary informed the AD and John was immediately let into the office.  Walking up to the desk, John introduced himself and sat across from him.

"Thank you for your time sir.  I need some information on some recent cases Agent Reyes has been working on."

AD Stevens stared at him for a minute and pulled out some files. Without a word, he slid them across the desk toward John.

John took them and asked if he could keep them for awhile.  The AD nodded and John got up.  He reached out and shook the AD's hand.  When he pulled away, the AD said, "She's a damn good agent.  I don't know who these bastards are but I hope you catch them." 

John stared at him and then walked out.  He should have told him about Agent Ryan but he knew it wasn't smart to make the AD think he had completely lost his mind by blaming aliens. 

He had no idea what to make of this office or this whole damn city.

Back at the motel John spread out all of the files.  There were only four.  After studying them, John immediately zeroed in on the file about a thirteen-year-old suspect who was suspected of stealing jewelry.  Monica seemed to have spent a lot of time on it, he thought, as he studied her notes.  All right, so maybe it was time to pay this girl a visit.  Maybe she knows something, anything.

He was surprised he was handed these files since Agent Sean Ryan was still assigned to them as well.  But apparently Agent Ryan had stopped all of the investigations to pursue looking for Monica.

More like hiding her.

Looking at his watch, he saw he had only four hours until Mulder and Scully arrived.  He should probably catch some sleep but he was too worried to sleep.  Instead, John pulled out Kate Simpson's file again and began to read it.  He was going to look for anything that might point him in the right direction.

Part 28.

"Oh My God!  Kate!"  Monica rushed forward.

"Kate, how did you get here?  You can't be here!  They'll find you…and oh God, we have to get you out of here."

Monica reached out to take Kate's arm and jumped back in alarm when her arm passed right through Kate.

"You're...you're astro projecting?"

"Astro projecting.  Astral travel.  Astral projected travel. All mean the same thing," Kate grinned at her, "I've been trying to research it, cause you know, it's so unusual and all."

Monica gave her a strained smile and looked out the window.  No sign of anyone...yet.

"Monica?  I'm dreaming right?  I mean, I can't possibly be traveling while I'm sleeping."

Monica crouched down slightly and looked into eyes full of fear and uncertainty.

"I don't know exactly what this is.  But I'm fairly sure you're not sleep-walking."

"Where are we?"

"I wish I knew that too.  And I also would like to know how you ended up here."

Monica straightened and glanced out the window again.  "This is their doing. Somehow...they are taunting me.  They sent you to make me believe that I could have a way out."

"What?" 

Monica turned quickly at the frightened voice.  "Oh honey, I was just rambling."

"They?  Who are 'they'?"

"It's not important.  What's important is getting you out of here."

Monica began to walk out of the room, hoping Kate would follow her.  Kate did and they stepped into the hallway.

"Okay, Kate, I'm not sure how to do this.  What is it you do before you feel yourself floating away?"

"I usually feel really tired.  And then I take a nap.  And then I'm… gone."

"Okay, well then why don't we make you-"

"Monica, look at you!"

Now that they were out of the darkened room, they could see each other more clearly.  And Kate was horrified at the way Monica looked.

"You're hurt!  So much blood and-" 

Monica could see the panic rise up into Kate's face and quickly urged her to sit down.

"It's nothing.  Now I need you to concentrate.  Take deep breaths."

"Okay."

Monica watched as Kate closed her eyes and lay perfectly still on the hallway floor.

About five minutes later, Monica was almost sure Kate was about to slip away when Kate bolted upright.

"Kate?"

"

There are three FBI agents at the door.   I could hear them, but couldn't see them because I was not fully back.  One called one of the agents, 'Scully'."

Monica collapsed to the floor and tried to grab Kate's hand, which was impossible.

"What?  Three agents and one was named 'Scully'?  Are you sure?"

Kate nodded. "Two guys and one woman.  Something's wrong." 

And with that Kate went under again.

Monica could just stare at her, too shocked to even speak.

Kate opened her eyes two and a half minutes later.  She looked at Monica with sad eyes.

"They are talking to my parents in the living room.  I could still hear them.  One agent, I think his name is John, he's asking about some people called Red Guns."

Kate looked at Monica questioningly but all Monica could do was shake her head in confusion.

"I better go back.  I think they are going to try and wake me up so they can talk to me.  I'll be right back."

"NO!"

Scared, Kate backed away slightly.

Calmly, Monica looked Kate in the eyes.  "Kate, I really appreciate that you want to help me, but I don't want you to come back here.  There are some very bad people here and I don't want them anywhere near you."

"But what about you and-"

"Kate, please listen to me.  Don't come back. And don't tell anyone you saw me.   Will you do that for me?"

Kate stared at her and slowly nodded.

"Thank you.  I wish I could hug you, but at the moment, that seems impossible."

Monica smiled at her and Kate smiled tearfully back. 

Hearing noise outside, Monica looked out one of the windows along the hallway. 

Nothing.

Turning back, she saw Kate was gone.

Monica breathed in a huge sigh of relief.  Hopefully Kate will stay away for good.  She should never come back.  These men would hunt her down and God knows what they would do to that innocent little girl.

Red Guns?  Who were they?  Were they the men after her?  Some type of super soldier?

Hearing more noise again, she looked out through the window again and found herself staring into a pair of dark green eyes.  The left eye winked at her and suddenly the figure thrust his arm through the glass and grabbed her.  She felt herself being pulled through the shards of glass and falling from the second floor window.

Green grass flying up at her.  So green and…

Darkness.


	16. Chapter 16

Part 29.

Scully and Mulder sat on the long couch in the living room, both watching John as he talked to Kate.  Kate was sitting on a chair and John was crouched in front of her. 

"Okay, Kate.  I just need you to tell me what it is that Agents Reyes and Ryan asked you."

Kate looked at him a little frightened.  But she believed these agents were going to help Monica so she knew she had talk to them.  And they didn't give her the creeps, like Agent Ryan had.

"They asked me about astro projection."

John looked up quickly and caught Scully's eye.  She looked at him and just shook her head in bewilderment.  Mulder, however, looked calm, as if he had been expecting this.

"Okay.  Why don't you tell me about that then."

"Ummm…well for a few months now, when I'm sleeping, I travel."

"Travel? Like sleep walking?"

"Yes…and no. It's more like a dream…only when I wake up I find out it wasn't a dream.  I had actually gone to these places.  Places really far away."

"Okay, and how do you know you've gone to these places?"

"The NEWS.  The cops.  They all tell me I'm a  thief.  That I've stolen all this jewelry.  But I wouldn't do that!"

Kate looked at him earnestly, expecting him to pat her on the head and roll his eyes.

"I believe you."

Kate didn't know why, but that simple statement made her feel tons better.  He was such a  nice man.  Maybe she should tell him about Monica. 

John, on the other hand, had no idea why he believed her.  This all sounded way too unreal to even be plausible.  But since Monica's disappearance, he had found that he was ready to believe almost anything, just as long as he didn't shut out any possibility of finding Monica.

Kate finished telling John all of the incidents involving her astro projection.  Then the agents got up and, telling Kate's family they would be in touch, they left.

 Walking down the driveway, John turned to look up at the sky.

This seemed hopeless.  She could be anywhere.

Scully touched him his arm and he turned to look at her.

"John, I think we need to go back to the motel and the three of us need to start going over everything."

Mulder nodded and put his arm around the shivering Scully.  "There's something in the files all right.  We just have to find it."

"Let's not forget we have a meeting with Director Stevens tomorrow."

John chuckled.  "Should be interesting."

Mulder grinned but sobered up quickly. "We also need to locate Agent Ryan.  He is one of the major keys here.  Either he doesn't know where Monica is and wants to, or he does and will lead us right to her."

The three stared at each other for a moment and silently began to head towards their rented Explorer.

John was about to climb behind the wheel when Kate came flying out of the house.

"Agent Doggett!" 

Kate kept screaming it until John ran over to her with Scully and Mulder right behind him.

"Kate, what's wrong?"

"I have to talk to you...please?"

John straightened up and looked at her worried parents before he followed Kate inside the house.

Once they were all inside, Kate turned to everyone.  "I can only talk to John."

Surprised, her parents took Kate by her shoulders.

"What you can tell him, you can tell all of us."

"No, I promised Monica I wouldn't tell anyone.  But I have to say something…or…"

John looked sharply at Scully and Mulder and then at Kate's parents.

Lucy finally said, "Okay, why don't you go talk to John in the family room?  The rest of us will go into the kitchen and have some coffee."

Kate's parents left the room, followed by Scully and a disappointed Mulder, who very clearly wanted to stay and listen.  And would have if Scully hadn't dragged him out of the room.

Kate grabbed John's hand and nearly pulled him down the hall into an airy room with a huge view of the San Fernando Valley.

"Kate, what did Monica not want anyone to know?"

Kate sat on a chair and nervously played with her rings.

"Well, this morning I astro projected again, and I had traveled to see Monica."

John's heart lurched to his throat but he gently told her to go on.

"She said some bad people were there and they wanted to hurt me, so I must never come back."

"Do you know where you were?"

Kate shook her head and squashed John's hope.  "All I could see was the cabin we were in.  It was surrounded by trees.  Monica didn't know either."

"If I need you too, could you describe the cabin with all the details you can remember?"

"Yes."

"Kate, why tell me this now?  What happened between when we left and when you came out of the house tonight?"

Kate looked down and twisted the ring on her right thumb.

"I fell asleep on the couch in the living room after you left and somehow I immediately astro projected.  It's never happened so fast before.  And I ended up at the cabin again.  Only Monica wasn't there. I could see the window in the room where she first saw me and it was broken now.  And there was blood."

John clenched his fist at the thought of Monica lying somewhere hurt.

Kate's eyes filled with tears.  "She was so hurt when I saw her.  And now, if…if...if she fell through the window…she could be dead."  Kate started to hiccup.

John felt the terror creeping up as he fought to gain control of his emotions.  "How hurt?  Where was she hurt?"

Kate shrugged a shoulder.  "Everywhere.  She was covered in blood.  Her clothes all dirty and bloodstained.  And her feet…"  Kate shivered at the thought.

"Is there anything else you can remember?"

Kate thought for a moment and shook her head.

"Okay."  Digging into his pocket, he found a pen and wrote his cell number on the back of a magazine that was lying on the coffee table.

"Here's my cell number.  I want you to call me, anytime, if you remember anything else, or if you see her again."

Kate nodded and reached out to take the magazine.

John handed it to her and gripped her hand.  "And if you feel scared again and want to talk to me or Agents Scully and Mulder, give me a call.  Okay?"

Kate nodded again and sniffed.  John led her out of the room and met up with Scully and Mulder in the kitchen.  One look at John's face and they quickly put their mugs down and said hasty good byes to the Simpson's as they hurried out to the Explorer. 

John filled them in on the way back to the motel and all three were brainstorming ideas by the time they pulled into the motel's parking lot.

Part 30.

Monica slowly awoke to the smell of rubber.  Shaking her head to clear the haziness, she  instantly realized her mouth was covered in some rubber material.  She was sitting in a chair with her hands tied behind her back and her feet tied to the legs of the chair.  The ropes tying her hands were almost cutting off her circulation.

She must have been unconscious for awhile because her body was numb.  At least the numbness eased the excruciating pain she knew she should be feeling.

The room was dark.  She had to be in a basement of some kind since she could feel, just barely, the dankness of the air around her.  Monica slowly turned both ways to try and make out her surroundings but her head screamed in pain.

Taking a deep breathe, Monica yet again forced down the panic and tried to think like an agent.  Wiggling her feet, she knew it was hopeless to try and work them free.

"Don't be getting any ideas now, Monica."

Monica looked up at the familiar voice and wasn't surprised.  A single light bulb was turned on and filled the room with a soft glow.

The man walked over to her and ripped of the rubber covering her mouth.  She wanted to scream but her tongue felt like cotton.

She swallowed a few times and finally managed to say, "You son of a bitch."

"Now, now Monica, is that anyway to talk to your partner?"

"Partner my ass."  Monica continued to glare at him as hatred filled her.  She had trusted this man and to know Agent Ryan was the enemy all along made her sick to her stomach.

He stepped close to her and peered at her head.

"Hmmm, it's a wonder that fall didn't kill you.  Or your little," Agent Ryan tsked, "spout in the woods."

Monica didn't say anything.  She didn't even grimace when he rubbed his hand across her temples and then drew it away, completely smeared in blood.  She wouldn't give him the satisfaction to know that he was hurting her.

"Ah, we must get this break taken care of as well.  Looks like you didn't come out of that fall unscathed after all."  Agent Ryan touched her right wrist and it instantly seared with pain.  The numbness had left her wrist with his touch and now she had to bite her tongue to keep from moaning with pain.

"Who are you?"

"Who am I?  I can't believe you haven't figured it out yet.  You were such a  good agent."

Monica ignored the past tense of his statement.  "Well?  Are you some kind of a super soldier?"

"Yes, I guess you could say that."

Agent Ryan put his hands behind his back as he walked around the room.

Oh, he's enjoying this way too much, Monica thought with anger.

"I'm part of a group called the Red Guns.  We have specials means of manipulating.  I guess you could say that's how we have gained such prestige power.  We use the human life, the energy of blood to thrive."

Monica listened attentively.  Somewhere, he had to have a weak point and she was going to find it.  She would  bring him down, even of she didn't survive at the end

"By taking the identities of FBI agents?  Isn't that a little pathetic?  You're hiding behind names, behind titles.

Agent Ryan whipped around and set his lethal gaze directly on her.  "We are not pathetic.  We do what has to be done to gain total control."

"Oh, by taking over the mind of a thirteen-year-old girl and forcing her to commit criminal acts?  Wow, how brilliant of you."

Agent  Ryan's face began to turn red.  "Bitch!"

Monica shrank back, instinct preparing her for a blow.

But Agent Ryan  calmed and gave her a wicked smile before continuing to walk around the room. 

"We do what is necessary to insure that we are right on track."

"Right on track for what?"

"To take over the world."

Monica sat there and just stared at him.  He couldn't be serious. Could he?  She knew the super soldiers had tried to do something similar but not to this extent.  And they had even  set a date for it, though no one really believed it would happen.  Except Mulder.

"So you plan on doing this by manipulating?"

"Yes, by manipulating.  Making people do exactly what we want.

"Then why am I not dead?  Why not manipulate me to commit suicide?"

"You…and your FBI partners are my own fun and games.  You are doing exactly what I want you to do."

Monica thought of John and the others.  Were they still alive?  Had Agent Ryan gotten to them yet?  No, please no…

"Ah, I can see by your face you are worried.  Good."

And with that Agent Ryan walked toward the door.  She had to know.  She didn't care how frightened she sounded.

"Wait!  What happens next?  Why am I the one you have chosen to help you? What do I have that you want?  Why," Monica swallowed and took a deep breathe, "why haven't you already taken it?"

Agent Ryan didn't turn around.  He stared at her for moment and then simply said, "You just have to wait."

And with that he left.


	17. Chapter 17

Part 31.

John jogged up the front steps of Monica's apartment building, with Scully and Mulder right behind him.  He made mental notes of who he saw coming and going as he climbed the staircase up to her floor.  Just in case.

 When he reached the fourth floor, he found himself jogging to her apartment.  But just as he reached her door, he halted to a stop with Scully and Mulder almost slamming into him.   They had their guns drawn before John could signal to them what was wrong.

Monica's door was partially open.

John slowly, so very slowly, eased the door open with his foot and peered in.  The apartment was dark but the sun streaming in through the French windows gave John enough light to scope the place out.

Not seeing anything, John slowly entered the apartment, his gun in his hands and in position.  He went to the right and Mulder went to the left.  Scully went straight toward the couch and the sliding doors leading to the balcony.  Scully signaled that she saw nothing and John and Mulder also did the same.  John then crept towards what looked like Monica's bedroom.

Seeing a light suddenly turned on though the doorway to the bedroom, John shoved the door open with a bang.

"Don't move!  FBI!"

The man standing by Monica's bed dropped the flowers he had been holding and looked at John with total panic.

"Put your hands up where I can see them!  Now!"

The man did as he was told and John slowly approached him. Scully and Mulder had entered the room by now and both pointed their guns at the guy.  Mulder grabbed the telephone cord and tied it around the man's wrists as John grabbed him and shoved him out of the bedroom.

They went into the living room where John practically tossed the guy onto the couch and kept his gun trained on him.

"All right, start talking.   Who are you and what the hell are you doing in this apartment?"

"FBI?"  The man asked weakly and looked like he was going to throw up.

"I said what the hell are you doing here?"

The man just stared at him and looked green.

"Oh great."  Scully went over to him and looked closer at his face.

Scully then stood up and yanked the guy up with surprising strength as she hauled him to the bathroom.  Mulder could hear the guy throwing up and rolled his eyes as he flopped down onto a chair.  John just stood there, frustrated that he was getting no where and that this guy was either hot for Monica or was working for the Red Guns.

John had a feeling it wasn't the latter as he remembered the flowers the guy had dropped.

Oh great.

A couple of minutes later, Scully marched the guy back into the room and pushed him onto the couch.

"Sorry.  I've never been ambushed by the FBI before."

"Ever break in and enter before either?" John glared at him as he spoke.

The guy lowered his eyes sheepishly and shook his head.

"Look, I just think Monica is…you know…really beautiful and I've been wanting to ask her out for dinner all week.  I live down the hall and met her the day she moved in.  She's hot and you know…but she kept ignoring me and I never really saw her by the elevators much after that."

"I wonder why."  Scully rolled her eyes and looked at her watch.

"Okay, so then what the hell are you doing in here?"

"Well, I haven't seen her around for awhile so I thought she might be sick.  So I picked up some flowers and was going to bring them to her and then I saw her apartment door was open so I thought…that maybe…I'd leave them for her in here."

"And you ended up in her bedroom?"

"Well, can you blame me?"

John wanted to throttle him but instead shoved his gun into his holster and stuffed his hands into his jacket.

Mulder grabbed the guy, untied him, and shoved him out of the apartment with a warning.

Closing the door, Mulder chuckled and put his arm around Scully, who did not look amused.

"Even though the guy's a wimp, I feel for him.  Imagine being that stupid."

Scully shoved his arm away and walked to the balcony.  Mulder narrowed his eyes in confusion and turned toward John.

"So, what do you think the next step is?"

John turned around and looked at him.  "You tell me, 'cause I got nothin'."

Mulder looked at him sympathetically and nodded.

"Lets go back to the motel and come up with a plan."

All three left and as they were walking down the street to where they had parked, Mulder remembered he had forgotten to get Monica's answering machine, which was the whole reason why they had gone to Monica's apartment in the first place.

John volunteered to go back and walked back up to Monica's apartment.  As he reached the fourth floor he saw Agent Ryan opening Monica's apartment door. 

"Hey, hold up!"

Agent Ryan looked at John and began running down the hallway.  John chased him. Agent Ryan slammed into the stairway and ran up, with John at his heels.

They burst out onto the roof where Agent Ryan looked around in a panic for a way down.

John whipped out his gun and pointed it at Agent Ryan.

"What, aren't you guys suppose to never die?  You're really afraid I might shoot you?"

Agent Ryan stared at John as he slowly back toward the edge of the roof.  John felt dizzy under Agent Ryan's stare but forced himself to concentrate. He still didn't know very much about the Red Guns, but he knew enough to never let his guard down.

Suddenly, a sharp pain gripped his chest and John cried out in pain and dropped his gun.  He collapsed onto the ground, his hands grasping at his heart.  Then he felt himself being forced to look up at Agent Ryan, who was standing on the edge and smiling at John.

"You'll never see her again.  Monica now belongs to the Red Guns.  Your feelings for her, and her feelings for you…they are nothing.  Nothing compared to what she will have with the Red Guns."  

 Agent Ryan turned around and jumped off the roof.

Part 32.

Monica stared into nothingness.  The room was dark again and she had no idea what time it was, or even what day.  She didn't even know how long she had been in the basement since she found herself rolling in and out of consciousness.

There were tears in her eyes.  She didn't even know how she could have any more tears left.  She was so drained of energy, of feeling.  Her body was still numb, even her broken wrist felt numb and might as well be separate from her body.

Her only senses that seemed to be working were taste and smell.  She could taste the blood in her mouth, and smell the copper smell of blood and filth all over herself.  It had been easy to deal with before but now she felt like she was gagging in it.

Suddenly a door opened somewhere at the other end of the basement and the light bulb was flicked on.  There was a string attached to the light bulb and Monica watched it, mesmerized.

Agent Ryan walked into the room and stared at her.  This was the second time he had been in here and the third person she had seen since she was put down here.  She couldn't identify the other two men and they hadn't said anything.  They had just given her some crackers and water and then left.

Agent Ryan continued to stare at her and Monica stared at the light bulb that was still swinging.  If this had been on some TV comedy show, Monica knew she would have found this hilarious.

Another man entered the room and slammed the door shut.

"What happened?"

Still staring at Monica, Agent Ryan replied, "I almost got it, but her stupid partners from DC stopped me."

Hearing this, Monica came out her daze and listened intently.  Agent Ryan didn't really seem to see her, or care that she was listening.  It seemed like he was staring right through her a he talked.

"What do you mean you don't have it?"

"One of the agents chased me away and up to the roof.  He almost had me.  I couldn't get him to stop chasing me until he had his gun pointed at me.   I made him think he was having a heart attack so I could have a chance to escape."

"Imbecile!  How could you lose your focus so fast?  We have been given a task and we must go through with it.  Nothing must get in the way, including your stupidity."

Agent Ryan met Monica's eyes briefly and then turned away.

"What about her?  She's useless.  Too weak.  I knew humans would be too weak."

"We have to use her.  It's the only way.  But I agree that she is weak.  Bring her upstairs.  We will make her more alert.

Agent Ryan walked over to her and untied the rope on her feet and hands.  Then he yanked her up and Monica collapsed when he tried to lead her away.  Her wrist started to throb and her whole body was beginning to scream in pain.  Red dots began to cloud her vision as her body protested movement.

 But Agent Ryan had no sympathy when he saw the look of pained shock on her face.  He dragged her up and marched her through the dim room.

At the door he lifted her by her elbows over the step and then set her down on tile floor.

They were in a narrow hallway and the bright light hurt Monica's eyes as she tried to shield them.

Holding her wrist to her chest, Monica hobbled next to Agent Ryan as he walked down the hallway.  They reached a staircase and, impatient with her slow walk, he picked her up and carried her roughly up the stairs.

They reached the second floor and he carried her threw a doorway and into a sun filled room.  The entire room was white, like the mansion Terrance Fisher owned.  Or the Red Guns owned, she thought, and glared up at Agent Ryan.  She hated referring to him as an agent but she didn't know what else to call him. Actually, she had a few names, but she couldn't say them with rubber over her mouth.

He set her down on a chair and didn't bother retying her.  Probably because he knew she was too weak to even attempt to stand and escape.

Over confident bastard.

Agent Ryan left the room and Monica looked around.  Nothing jumped out at her as a tool for escape.  Looking over, she saw a door that might lead into a kitchen.  Knives were in there, as well as other possible weapons.

First she had to get some strength before she attempted getting up.  Looking out the windows, she saw that she was still in a forest.  She had no way of knowing if she was still in the same one as before. 

She watched the last rays of sun die out as it settled through the trees and darkness crept close.


	18. Chapter 18

Part 33.

Mulder stared thoughtfully at the map he had hung on the wall of the motel room.  It was of the Western United States.  He looked at the different patches of green symbolizing forests.  There were so many of them!  Practically all of Oregon, Washington, Idaho, Montana and Colorado were covered in forests.  California had forests in the Northern part and also along the Sierra Mountains.

"Using your magical powers to locate her?"

Scully slipped her arms around Mulder, who was sitting on the edge of the bed, and he leaned his head back against her as he stared thoughtfully at the map.

"Yeah, my magical pen," Mulder wiggled the one he was holding," says she is, ah, in the Redwoods."

"The Redwoods huh?  So she's near Lake Shasta?"

Scully laughed and squeezed his shoulders before walking up to the map.  She stared at it for a minute and then said softly, "You don't think she could be in Oregon, do you?"

Mulder walked up and hugged her from behind before he firmly shook his head.

"No.  I don't think they would do that, not again.  And these aren't the same people like before.  They have new plans, new agendas."

Scully nodded and swept her gaze over the entire map.

"She could be anywhere…"

"Not just anywhere.  She's in the Sierra's."

Mulder and Scully whipped around at the sound of John's voice.  He was standing in the doorway of their room and his face was lit up with new found hope.

"I studied the notes from Kate's details about the place where she was with Monica and something occurred to me.  You see, Kate remembered seeing a watch tower.  I called her to see if she remembered details about this watch tower."

"And?"

"It had a blue roof."

Scully was staring at him and then turned around and looked at the map. 

"And only the Sierra's have watch towers with blue roofs," she concluded.

"You got it."   John tossed the information he had gathered onto the bed and went to look at the map too.

"So we have this whole mountain range to cover."  John traced the area with his finger and studied it.

"Looks like it."  Scully picked up the papers off the bed and looked through them.

Mulder walked over and looked at them over her shoulder and then glanced over at John.

"So there are 36 watch towers.  Where do you want to start?"

Scully picked up Mulder's 'magic pen' and walked over to the map.  Closing her eyes she stabbed the pen into the map. 

"We start here.  Watch tower number 21."

Mulder mockingly said, "Scully!  I'm shocked.  No scientific theories?  No reasonable ideas?"

He walked over and kissed her hard on the mouth.  "No smart ass comments?"

Scully smiled and punched him lightly.  "Better then your magical 'Redwood forest' crap."

Scully turned to John.   "This okay with you John?"

John chuckled.  "Sounds good to me.  As long as we get going fast.  Each minute that goes by…"

"We'll be packed in five minutes."  Scully began tossing things into a suitcase and Mulder rolled up the map.

John ran next door and began packing too.  They should be on the road and racing for the mountains as soon as possible.

John glanced toward the east as he began shoving his things into the Explorer.

"We're coming Monica, we're coming."  John whispered and then ran back into his room to get the rest of his things

All three were in such a hurry that they never noticed the Mercedes parked across the street in front of an Italian restaurant.  Or the man sitting behind the wheel with a pair of binoculars.

Part 34.

It was morning.  Monica slowly woke and could feel the sun stream through the big bay window and warm her chilled body.  The airiness and vastness of the room was surprising for a second because she was so used to the darkness in the basement. 

She shifted around slightly and immediately realized she had been retied to the chair.  Apparently these men were taking no chances, despite how physically weak she was.

But she wasn't weak.  Mentally, she was stronger than ever.  She thought she should have felt completely hopeless by now, and for awhile she could admit she had.  But her anger toward these men was increasing by the second and she wanted to beat them at their own game.  She would fight this to the very end.

She just had to work on ignoring her physical weaknesses.

The silence was welcome at first but now it seemed like it was deafening.  In the basement she had heard pipes clinging together and footsteps tromping around above her head to keep her from going stir crazy.  But now there was nothing.  Okay, she would just ignore it.

First things first.  She had to untie herself.  It had been impossible in the basement because she hadn't been able to see anything.  The only times the light had been on was when one of the Red Guns had entered the basement.  But not enough time to glance around for tools and not look suspicious at the same time.

Now she had light. But a quick search around the room turned up nothing, like yesterday. 

Monica took a deep breathe and sighed with relief that she no longer had rubber over her mouth.  Breathing in deeply, Monica made herself relax and clear her mind.  Now was the time to start coming up with an escape route.  Ignore the eerie stillness and relax.

She needed to know the location of the doors and windows of the cabin.  It was definitely bigger than the first cabin she had stumbled upon.  She needed to know the exact amount of Red Guns that were on the property.  Their regular daily activities and who walked by this room at certain times during the day.  Who were her guards and who was the one appointed to bringing her food and taking her to the bathroom.

Monica felt herself drift into what her parents like to call her 'FBI mode.'  She was so deep in thought that she hadn't heard the Red Gun enter the room to bring her some food. 

She opened her eyes in surprise when she felt her wrists being painfully untied.  Slowly she brought her wrists forward but didn't look at them.  Monica glanced up at the Red Gun who had positioned himself by the kitchen door and was watching her.  Slowly Monica took a bite of the apple and stared at her plate. 

A knife.  There was a knife on her plate for the chicken. 

Looking up, Monica smiled at the Red Gun.  She had to distract him.  Make him look away long enough for him to forget he had brought her a knife with her dinner.

"Could I ask you a question?"  Monica knew her voice was barely above a raspy whisper but her throat refused to let her speak any louder.

The Red Gun didn't respond, only merely lifted his brow.

Not sure how to respond to that, Monica decided just to keep going with it.  "I saw these strange lights flickering around the trees by the barn all night.  What are they for?"

Monica knew right away her plan was working when the Red Gun stood up with a look of confusion and went to look out of the windows facing the barn about half a mile from the cabin.

While he was looking away, Monica dropped her napkin and knife on the carpet.  It was silent so the Red Gun didn't hear, but it did throw off anyone's suspicions if they were watching her through a hidden camera.

Monica picked up the napkin and knife and swiftly tucked the knife under her chair where she would be able to reach it with her hands tied.

She looked up just as the Red Gun turned around, tied her up and muttered something under his breath as he grabbed Monica's half finished cold chicken and carried it away.

Monica breathed a huge sigh of relief when he had gone.  That was almost too easy.

She decided to wait until night fell before she made her escape.  She had no advantage over the Red Guns but it would help to have the darkness to conceal her as much as possible until they figured out she was gone.  She didn't know what she would do when they came searching for her but she'd deal with that later. 

Right now she just hoped she would make it out of the cabin despite the fact she could barely walk.  Damn it!  Monica groaned to herself and tried to flex her muscles a bit as she waited for night.


	19. Chapter 19

Part 35.

John leaned wearily against the refrigerator as he stood in the kitchen of another cabin and listened to the rambling of the cabin owner.  There was no sign of Monica.

Frustrated beyond belief, John left Mulder to deal with the confused owner as he walked back outside and wandered around the property.

This was the twenty-third cabin they had checked out since arriving in the mountains early that morning.  So far they had seen nothing that might give them a clue as to where she might be.

John could see Scully standing by their car in the gravel driveway, talking a mile a minute on her cell phone.  She was updating Skinner on what they had found so far.  In turn, Skinner was digging around for records on all cabins in the Sierra's that were located within distance of a watch tower. 

John found himself wandering even further away from the cabin and walked through a clearing that immediately turned into a dense forest.  He didn't know why he kept going but he felt something pulling him in this direction.  He wasn't about to question it as he guided himself along the imaginary trail. 

Up ahead the trees started to give way to another clearing and a cabin came into view.  A cabin within view of a watch tower.

Eager to look over the cabin, he called Scully and Mulder and told them about the cabin and its location.

Not willing to wait for them, John went up to the door of the cabin and knocked.  Hearing no sound from the inside, John picked the lock and five seconds later the knob turned easily in his hand.

The cabin was dark and after flicking some switches, John concluded the power was definitely shut off.  Crossing the kitchen floor John immediately saw the phone on the floor.  Crouching down, John felt his heart skip a beat when he saw the blood on the phone receiver.

It had to be Monica's.  She had tried to call him just a few days ago and was disconnected.  The power must have been shut off when the Red Guns had realized what she was trying to do.  Bastards.

With a feeling of dread, John stood up and walked through the cabin.  He didn't see any more blood, but for some reason that worried him even more.  John climbed up the stairs and found himself entering one of the little rooms.   His eyes went directly to the broken window and John felt sick as he ran to the window and looked down.  He felt such relief not to see Monica's mangled body that he nearly collapsed.

John made his way back down the stairs and went outside to wait for Mulder and Scully so he would have more help in combing over the cabin.

A sudden movement to his right had John whipping out his gun and pointing it at the figure.

"Kate?"

Kate stood only a few feet from him.  John chuckled and walked over to her.

"What in God's name are you doing out-what the hell? "

Kate was indeed standing before him, but she didn't look all there.  She wasn't see-through exactly…but something was definitely not right.  Shit, was she astro projecting?

"Agent Doggett?  I don't have much time.  But you have to see something."

Kate turned around and bean to walk without waiting for John's reply.  John fell into step with her and he saw that she was leading him around the cabin toward the back. 

Right where he had just stared down from the window.

John then began to see what she wanted him to see.  The grass was covered in dried blood, baking under the glare of the afternoon sun.  He had been so relieved not to see her body sprawled out dead that he had been blind to the brick red blood that seemed brighter than ever.  John felt tears swimming in his eyes as he bent down and got a closer look.

"She's not dead."

John looked up at her and just stared.

"You know as well as I do that she's not.  You can feel it, here."  Kate pointed to his heart and looked into the trees.

"Kate, is this where you saw her?"

"Yes, the last time I saw her and the last time I could locate her.  She was upstairs and kept telling me to leave before the bad guys came."

"And you don't know where she is now?"

"No, I can't seem to pick up on her readings."

"Her readings?"

Yes.  She and I are alike in that way.  We have this sensitivity and are able pick up on each other.  That's how I found her before.  But now, she is so weak that I can't find her.  Her body is almost ready to give up on her."

"She's still alive?"  John stood up and stared at her.  "You're sure?"                                                                                   

Kate nodded and looked into the trees.  "I'm new at this but I do know I would feel it if she was gone.  This connection Monica and I have…I think that's why these bad guys wanted us.  Sometimes, when they make me have those dreams and I find myself walking in this mist...towards wherever they want me to go, I can hear them in the distance.  They laugh, and they plan.  They've wanted Monica from the beginning.  She was essential, they said.  Essential to the big plan to take over the world.  Her ability to tap into feelings, into thought and ideas.  I heard them laugh about something called the X-Files, about stupid alien chasers.  They knew they had the perfect opportunity to take her away with the restart of the X-Files so they came up with a way to scare her into coming out here."

"And what was that?" 

"They threatened your lives."

"Threatened our lives?  But that happens quite frequently.  Monica knows that.  Something must have really spooked her for her to run like that"

Kate shrugged.  "I'm not exactly sure.  They did say that one of them left a note about astro projection in a FBI director's desk.  They had a good laugh at how easy it was to manipulate."

John stood there and tried to process everything Kate was saying.  Everything was starting to make sense is some sick and horrific way.

"Kate, why tell me this now and not before?"

"Because I…I was scared.  The bad guys, these Red Guns, seemed to be with me wherever I went.  I was too afraid that if I told you, they would kill me."

"So why tell me now?"

"They're gone.  They have left me alone now.  I was just a piece of the game, to lure Monica into their trap.  Now they have her and they don't need me anymore."

John sighed and stared out into the forest that seemed to be closing in on him.

"Thank you, Kate, for showing me this and telling me what you have heard, what you have been through."

"I wasn't going to.  But a nice guy urged me to tell you."

"A nice guy?"

"Yes, he stopped by and said he was a friend of Agent Monica's and of the other agents from Washington DC that had just questioned me.  His name was…I think his name was Gibson.  He knew that I was part of the investigation and wanted to thank me for my help.  Then it was like he could read my mind because he told me to tell you everything before he left.  He said it was Monica's last chance of being found alive."

John didn't know what to say to that.  "How did you know where we were?"

Kate grinned.  "It wasn't that hard.  I knew you would end up here sooner or later.  I wanted to tell you about this place after I knew that the bad guys didn't want me anymore, but I didn't know how to find you.  Gibson told me I would know when you had reached this place and to come when I felt your presence."

Kate laughed at John's bewildered expression and instantly transformed back into her old thirteen-year-old self.  Gone was the look of a child lost and frightened. "I know this is all so totally weird."

"No, it's not weird.  You're very brave and I really appreciate this."

Kate shrugged embarrassed.  "I have to go…I'm not suppose to travel this far, and for this long."  Kate began to back away and John reached forward to shake her hand and was shocked when his hand passed through her hand.  Kate giggled and cast a somber look over her shoulder as she ran off.  The forest swallowed her up and John was alone once again.

He could see the Explorer pulling in at the end of the clearing and jogged over.  He had lots to tell them, even though his mind kept telling him it had to be bogus at what he had just witnessed.

Part 36.

Monica sat, staring out the window and into the sky.  She could see the magnificent colors of the sunset through the thicket of the vast trees.  The warm colors of orange, pink and yellow seemed to burst over the limitless sky and gleefully cover every inch of darkening blue.  The owls were beginning to hoot in the early evening air and crickets chirped a steady rhythm. 

Monica welcomed the noise.  The silence throughout most of the day made her want to scream in rage.  Even the faint hooting of owls  couldn't make the deafening silence go away.  But now, now she felt more at ease.

Despite the fact she was being held hostage.

Monica wiggled her numb fingers for what seemed like the umpteenth time and tried to get her blood circulating again.  She still had the knife and there was no way in hell she was giving it up.

Monica glanced out the window again and saw that the sky was much darker now.  Now was good a time as any to try and escape.

Gripping the knife in her right hand, Monica began see-sawing it against the rope that held her hands together.  After five minutes, Monica felt sweat begin to drip down her brow and sting the open gashes on her forehead.  That damn rope wasn't coming loose! 

Then again, she was only using a butter knife.

What felt like an eternity, Monica finally felt triumph as the rope snapped into two. 

Pumping her hands up and down the rope began to slide off.  But just as she was about to free her hands, the door opened

Glancing up, Monica tried to keep the terror of being discovered out of her eyes as she stared into the eyes of Knowle Roher.

Knowle didn't seem to notice her hands, or chose to ignore it as he sat down across from her.  Monica shifted her eyes and stared blankly over his left shoulder.  She wasn't about to give him the satisfaction of her attention.

Knowle smiled, as if he knew what she was thinking and leaned back comfortably in his chair.

"Well well well, so we meet again Monica."

Silence.

"What?  You're not going to talk to me?  Well, that's all right.  I have some things to say to you anyway.

Knowle leaned forward until he was face to face with Monica.  She still refused to look at him.  Knowle sighed in frustration.

"You don't seem to understand what I'm offering you Monica.  A chance to escape what will be the inevitable.  We are giving this opportunity to so few humans.  You would be smart to take it."

Yeah right, he wasn't going to let her escape.  The son of a bitch would kill her right on the spot after she was done doing whatever the hell they needed her to do.  But…it would buy her time.

Monica finally looked into his eyes and stared coldly at him.

Thinking he had just won her over, Knowle laughed and leaned back comfortably into his chair.  This was going to be fun, he thought.

"What we need you for is your ability to believe, and to make others believe."

"Ability to believe and make others believe?"

"Yes.  I've done my research.  You're the next best thing to Fox Mulder.  You have this ability to not turn a blind eye to what is viewed to humans as…the unthinkable.  You're also intelligent and people listen to you.  You are…now let me think, what did they call you in New Orleans?  Ah yes, the black sheep.  You see, you will be of great help to us."

Monica couldn't believe this.   They wanted her to help them manipulate.

"And what if I don't go along with this ridiculous plan?  What would you do then?  And speaking of which, you're suppose to have this amazing ability to manipulate.  So why not manipulate me into manipulating these people you want to manipulate?"

Monica felt a headache brewing.  What the hell did she just say?  Bunch of mumbo jumbo… and she could see by the narrowing of Knowle's eyes that she had managed to piss him off as well. 

"We could manipulate you.  But that would be too easy and too messy.  No, we need you.  Willingly or not, you will help is.  And don't think your friends are going to come and save you.  They're probably already dead or will be soon.  They're falling into my trap even as we speak and it will be only a matter of time before we are finished with them.  Then we move forward and finish what we came here to do."

Monica was so angry and frightened at the aspect of not being able to warn John and everyone else that she felt sick.  "You're delusional."

"No, I like to think I'm just brilliant."  Knowle smiled and stood up.  "It's you who is delusional if you think you can stop me."

"We've done it before and we'll do it again."

Knowle stared at her for a few seconds and then burst out laughing.  Monica shivered from the evilness behind the laugh. She suddenly began to feel dizzy and her throat felt dry and achy.  Knowle's  laugh swirled around her as she suddenly pitched forward and threw up the small amount of food she had been able to consume since being knocked out in the jewelry store.


	20. Chapter 20

Part 37.

Scully and John examined the blood stained grass as Mulder stood a few feet away on his cell phone.  John couldn't help but stare at the rusty-colored grass as Scully looked at him worriedly.

"John?  I think we've looked at this enough.  Without a forensics kit, we won't be able to find much.  Let's walk around."  She grasped his arm and slowly dragged him away toward the trees.

As they entered the canopy of pine trees, they heard running footsteps and both turned around to see Mulder enter the forest.

"That wasn't the first house she was kept hostage in."

"What?  Where else?" 

Mulder looked at John, "About  2 miles away is a cabin. The owner of this cabin,"

Mulder nodded toward it through the trees, "says he heard a lot of noise coming from it a couple of nights ago.  He called the Sheriff's department and they took a look the next day.  They didn't see anyone, the house was locked up tight…except for a window leading out of the basement.  The Sheriff found traces of blood around the windowsill.  I'm thinking it  has to be  Monica's. Also, there were many boxes strewn all over the floor in front of the window.  As if someone climbed up them and then it was knocked down later to hide the evidence."

"The Red Guns," John concluded with disgust. 

Suddenly, John began to walk farther into the trees, and Mulder and Scully followed him.

Then he stopped and stared at a bush that looked trampled.  "She ran.  She ran through these trees and found this cabin.  She was still alive yesterday…"

"And she could very well be alive right now."  Scully gently took Mulder's hand and squeezed it as she watched John's face cloud up with controlled emotion.  Taking a deep breathe, John turned around and began walked back to the car.

Once inside, John waited for the other two and then pulled out onto the road.  Mulder and Scully knew where he was going and didn't say a word. 

About three minutes into the drive, Scully saw John's hands tighten on the steering wheel.

"John?"

"Behind us...I could have sworn I saw the glint…yeah there it is.  God damn, who are these people?"

John sped up and began to take the curves of the mountain with the ease of a man who had done quite a bit of off-roading.  Still, Mulder and Scully hung on for their lives as they tried to see the car behind them. 

Suddenly, John swerved to the right and backed into a little nook on the road.  Engine idling, they waited for the car to pass.

Not a minute later a Mercedes roared past with two men sitting up front.  They obviously didn't see the Explorer because they still kept racing up the mountain and John could see the light glint off the windows through the trees that aligned the road.

John pulled out and followed them at a safe distance.  Mulder leaned forward with his binoculars and tried to get a good look at the car ahead of them.  "Don't  they know a Mercedes is the WORST car to go camping with?"  Smirking, Mulder began to write down the make of the Mercedes and the license plate.

After calling it in to the police department, Scully stared ahead at the winding road. 

"They said they would get back to us...but it's the same one isn't it?"

"Yeah" John stared ahead and was trying to gauge the best distance between them and the Mercedes.

Suddenly, the Mercedes disappeared.  "What the hell?"  John stopped the car and looked around rapidly for any sign of it. 

"Now where could they have gone?"  Mulder craned his head over Scully's shoulder and was practically breathing down her neck.

Scully whipped around and stared coolly at him.  "You want to sit up front Mulder?"

Oblivious, Mulder said, "Oh no, no.  I'm fine back here."

Scully glared at him and pushed him away slightly before asking, "What if they are doing the same thing to us?  Waiting for us to drive by and then take after us?"

"No, I thought about that.  But I don't think they actually saw us, or were even after us.  We were just another car on the road and they never thought twice.  I think they are unknowingly leading us right to Monica.  Or were…"  John scanned the road and the trees again.

John then slowly drove forward.  All three stared out the windows, barely breathing as they tried to spot a road that the Mercedes might haven driven off of.

All of the sudden, Mulder spotted it and yelled the location.  John stopped in front of it and all three stared down a gravel and weed path barely big enough for a car.

Shaking his head, John could barely suppress a grin as he felt excited that they were now physically getting closer.  "Now we know that these Red Guns are idiots...taking such a nice car down a road like this."  John drove forward and then parked in the trees.

From the road, the car was not visible but if anyone happened to be hiking by, they'd definitely see it.  But there wasn't much they could do since they needed an escape car as close as possible.

All three got out and grabbed some equipment and walked back up the main road.  Once in front of the weeded path, they slowly began to walk in the trees beside it, keeping an ear out for any engines or snapping of tree branches.

Part 38.

Monica woke groggily to darkness.  Where was she?  She was laying down on some cot in…a bedroom? 

Monica slowly sat up and squinted at the neon green lights flashing the time at her.

"6:47," Monica read to herself.  Was that in the morning or night?  

Monica forced herself to stand up, which was rather difficult since her hands were retied behind her back.  Her muscles protested at the movement but she ignored the pain. 

Gritting her teeth, Monica finally managed to stand up, a little shaky, but she was up.

Once she had her balance, Monica squeezed her eyes shut and tried to put the pain out of her mind.  She told herself her legs didn't feel like muscles spasms…her eyes didn't burn like fire…her gashes and cuts didn't sting horribly…she was fine.  Her broken wrist and punctured feet were not going to stop her.

She could do this...she just had to take it slow.  First thing first was to get her hands untied.  Those bastards had taken her knife.  Well, now what?  Spying a metal desk in the corner, Monica hobbled toward it and turned around so her back was to the corner of it.  The edge wasn't very sharp but it was the best thing she could come up with.  Resting her hands below the corner, she began to pump them up and down.  And almost screamed. 

The pure agony...her sore and skinned wrists were sheer piercing pain.  She could feel blood running down her hands and slowly dripping off her numb fingers. She imagined a pool of blood was forming on the floor.

But she didn't look, just kept pumping.  She suddenly lost feeling in her right worst, the broken wrist.  Monica felt the silent tears rain down her cheeks as she moaned in pain.

Then, all of the sudden, success!  The rope slid off and Monica nearly collapsed with relief.

Monica gingerly picked up a small towel on the bureau and loosely wrapped it around her broken wrist. 

Okay, she was free. Now how to get out of the room?  

Monica went to the door and to her surprise it wasn't locked.  Okay, think like an agent, she told herself.  She had to have a weapon.  Scanning the room, Monica decided that the pen by the small window was her best bet for now.  If the aliens tried to stop her, she would just have to stab them with the pen…Monica chuckled from the thought.  She was definitely losing her mind.

Creeping to the door again, Monica pressed her ear to it to see of she could hear any voices. She could hear two men talking but couldn't quite make out what they were saying.

Easing the door open a few inches, Monica scanned the hallway and slowly crept out.  At the end of the hallway she could see a light shining from under a door. The door appeared to be partly open.  Damn, that's where the stairs seemed to be!

Monica began to tip-toe down the hallway.  It took her awhile, but at least she wasn't making any noise.  Suddenly a noise made Monica jump back in surprise.  Two men were climbing up the stairs!  Monica turned around and tried the first door she came to.  It was open! 

Monica slid inside and could feel the blood pounding in her head as she struggled to keep her labored breathing under control.  The men reached the top of the stairs and went into the occupied room. 

Monica eased out and began to tip-toe again.  As she neared the door, she could catch a drift of what was being said.

"What do you mean, you lost them?"

"We had them, and then they were gone.  They were checking out the cabin that the woman had run to and were looking at the blood soaked grass."

"Blood soaked grass?"

Knowle Rohrer, Monica decided.  But who was he talking to?

"Well, I told you we had trouble with her.  She just tumbled from the window and left a mess."

"Left a mess?  You idiot!  We are to give nothing to these agents!  I don't want them finding her!  I want them out of the way, PERIOD!  The FBI has tried to bring me down once and they will not succeed again!  Now find them and get rid of them!  Understand?"

"Perfectly."

"Get out of here."

Monica's heart raced.  What should she do?  She was standing right next to the door! 

Thinking fast, Monica ran past the door and down the stairs.  She was bound to run into a Red Gun but she had no choice.

Amazingly, she was able to run with great speed through the cabin's main floor and to the front door.  At the door, Monica came to a halt.  Four Red Guns stood just outside the door.  They seemed to be scanning the trees with night vision binoculars.  They were wearing black clothes and had machine guns at their hips.

"Oh great!"  Monica whispered and turned around.   There had to be another way out!  Hearing heavy footsteps coming down the stairs, Monica's eyes darted around the room and then settled on the couch.  Just as they reached the bottom step, Monica dove behind the couch.

"How many men will we have on the South Side?"

"About 150 sir."

"Excellent.  We will begin at sunrise."

The two men left the room and Monica's mind was racing.  150?  Begin?  Begin what?  Oh God, she had to get out of there!  There was some much she had to do, people to warn!  She had to find Mulder and Scully...and she had to find John.

Monica looked out the window and saw that the men were still standing there, binoculars glued to their faces.

Okay, plan B.  Seeing a window across the room, Monica crawled toward it and pried it open.  The window opened smoothly and, looking around quickly, Monica climbed out and landed on the other side with a soft thud.

By this time her body was telling her to give it up.  She was almost drained of energy.  She had hardly eaten in the past few days and whatever she had managed to swallow had been promptly thrown up.

Gotta  keep going.  She could do it.  She was almost there.  Monica scanned the trees. 

Where should she go?  Were the Red Guns watching all of the trees surrounding the property?  How many Red Guns were there, exactly?

Seeing the barn in the moonlight, Monica made a quick decision and half raced, half limped toward it.

She could do it, she knew she could.  Just a few more steps and she was safe!

Success!  Monica reached for the heavy door and pulled it open slightly.  She looked behind her but there was no movement.  So far so good.  Monica slipped inside the small opening and shut the door.

Breathing heavily, Monica slumped against the door.  She had no more energy.  She needed rest.

Just as her eyes closed, a light exploded in front of her and shattered the silky darkness.

"Oh my God!"


	21. Chapter 21

Part 39.

It was pitch dark now.  They had been hiking for over an hour and they had yet to come across anything that might lead them directly to Monica.   John felt like they were walking in circles.  He knew they weren't since they were still following the path.  But it felt like it.

Mulder stopped walking suddenly and Scully and John turned to look at him.

"What?"  John looked at him impatiently.

"I think we're going about this the wrong way."

"What the hell does that mean?  They were in a car, so they had to of followed this path." 

Mulder ignored him and slowly turned a circle.  It was very difficult to make out the surroundings.  They only had enough moonlight to guide them along the path.  They didn't dare take out their flashlights.  "We would have seen a turn off or a driveway by now."

All three of them stared at each other with uncertainty for a moment.  Then Scully stepped away and walked over to the lining of trees.  Staring into the canopy of darkness, she said, "I think John's right, Mulder.  I mean, how could these men have just taken their car and veered off without leaving a trail blazed behind them?" 

Scully turned around and gazed at both men.  "I know we are in almost complete darkness here, but we have enough moonlight to know when there is a sudden clearing of trees."

"Right, and that's just the way humans would hide, but were not dealing with humans here.  Come on Scully, you remember all of things the Super Soldiers were able to do…"

Scully looked at him and then averted her eyes and stared up at the moon and Mulder felt like the stupidest son of a bitch in the world.  Of course she remembered…what the hell was he thinking?

Before Mulder could say anything else, John said, "Oh right…because we're dealing with Red Guns here, nothing logical is going to help us locate her?  Bullshit.  They had to of taken this path.  Besides, wouldn't we have seen lights by now if we had run across the place where these Red Guns have set up camp?"

With that, John began to hike up the path again and Mulder and Scully fell into step right behind him.  Mulder reached out and grasped Scully's hand and began to rub it gently with his thumb.  Scully looked over in surprise and smiled at the guilty look on his face. 

She shook her head slightly to tell him everything was okay.

The three agents kept walking silently through the darkness, the moonlight their only guide.

Owls hooted in the distance, and sometimes right next to them, which made them nearly jump out of their shoes the first time.  They were all on edge with being extremely worried about Monica and not knowing if they were on the right 'path', so to speak.

Wind blew around them once in awhile and sent the dead leaves dancing.  A couple of times a tree branch would snap or the bushes near them would rustle and the agents would stop and, guns drawn, investigate the perpetrator.  So far they had managed to point their guns at four deer and two squirrels. 

Three hours later, they stopped simultaneously and looked at each other. 

"I don't get it. We saw them go down this path!"  Scully blew out a long breathe and glanced around her.

"They did.  I know they did."  John looked at both of them.  "You guys are going to give up aren't you?  Well, if you are, have a nice hike back.  I know she's here and I'm not leaving without her."

"We're not giving up.  We're just trying to figure this out.  We'll find her John."  Scully smiled at him encouragingly and looked at Mulder.  "So, got any theories Mr. Spooky?"

Mulder didn't look at her when he swung his arm around her and still stared hard down the path.  "Now?  Well…not really.  But you can bet they are trying their damnest not to be seen."

That got John's attention.  "Yeah?   How do you figure?"

"Well, if they really do plan on taking over the world, they better be ready to do it.  Even with everything they are able to do, it's still not enough to gain complete control, to gain power.  They need time to plan and time to strategize.  That's where the Super Soldiers fell short.  They got too cocky too quick."

Scully and John stared at Mulder.

Then John turned around and began to almost jog down the path.

Scully ducked out from under his arm and punched him lightly on the shoulder.  "Nice job Mulder.  The man is already sick to death with worry and now you've just sent him over the edge."

Suddenly they heard what sounded like crashing in the trees to their right.  Flashlights began to cut through the trees.

Mulder and Scully raced silently after John and almost ran into him about fifteen feet ahead.  He was crouched behind a bush and staring at the bobbing lights.

"Looks like we hit the jack pot," John whispered.

Part 40.

Monica felt the gun prod her in the back as a Red Gun pushed her along down a dark trail.  They were in the woods, moving somewhere north of the cabin. Threatening dark clouds were beginning to roll in and cover up the moonlight.   Maybe it was better that she couldn't see what she was being led into.  Or that she couldn't see the other innocent people being led to their deaths as well.  And they were going to die.  No doubt about that.

Glancing to the right she could see the dark images of figures being pushed along too and she couldn't help but grimace.

It seemed like days ago since she had made that run to the barn and had discovered all of those people being held captive by the Red Guns.   But she knew it had only been hours, since the sun hadn't come up yet.  Remembering when the light had exploded in her face, she could still see, in her mind, all of the people sitting motionless.  Only their eyes told her of their fear.  There must have been at least a hundred innocent people sitting on the floor of the barn.  When the Red Guns had seen her, they had yanked her down on the ground and had shoved a rifle to her head.   She had sat still for awhile and then was ordered to stand up and to begin walking.

Now they were in the forest.  Even though she could hardly see, she knew that they were being led in groups.  About twenty people in each, if she had to guess.  Less suspicious.  Right, so people being forced by gun to walk isn't suspicious?  Monica felt hysteria crawling up her throat and struggled to keep it down.

To keep herself sane Monica trained her eyes forward.  Occasionally lights bounced off trees and people in front of her.   Reflecting green eyes would peer at her through the darkness and then scamper away. 

Lucky animals.

There was a time she knew she could do that too.  Use her instincts, mentally and physically, and outsmart her captors.  But now, she was done.  She had nothing to fight with.  Physically she was weakening by the minute.  Her feet were beyond hope.  She now had a twisted ankle because she stepped wrong on a root a few miles back.  But what good was it to think about these things? 

She was going to die anyway.

Tears threatened again and Monica let them escape.  Who the hell cared?  The Red Guns would probably love to see it, the sheer weakness of it.  But it was dark so the hell with it.

On and on they marched.  Stumbling on branches and rocks, they kept going.  Red Guns silently guarding them, their only warnings were the shoving of rifles to their heads if they slowed down.

Suddenly a Red Gun in front of her stopped and Monica almost ran into him.  No, they couldn't stop!  She didn't think she could keep walking if they stopped and then decided to press on again.  Her legs were shaking and dizziness threatened to take over her body and numb it.    

But they were ordered to stop.  Silence engulfed her as she stood still and could only hear the harsh breathing from the other prisoners.  Even the animals hiding in the trees and brush were silent.

Then the Red Guns began yanking them in all different directions.  A Red Gun grabbed her and pulled her with him a few feet where he planted her in place and went to grab another person.  They were putting them into a circle, she realized.  Moonlight peeked through the clouds and Monica could see the faces of those who stood in front of her.  No children, which made Monica sigh with relief. 

"Well if it isn't Agent Reyes."

Monica refused to acknowledge Agent Ryan as she stared straight ahead.

"You're really not looking too good."  Agent Ryan laughed and caressed her swollen cheek.  Monica had to fight with everything she had not to grimace at his touch. 

Fucking bastard.

When Monica refused to say anything, Agent Ryan tried again.  "So, want to hear the details of what's going to happen next?  Sure you do.  Now I can't tell you all since I know you actually have a brain and there's a slight chance you could try to stop us." 

Agent Ryan laughed again and really seemed to be enjoying himself.

Monica fisted her hands but showed no emotion on her face.

"You," Agent Ryan gestured to the circle, " will be our example.  This group of fine human beings will be our key in making the world know we mean business.  Well, I shouldn't say you in particular.  We have a different job for you."

Monica couldn't stand it any longer and turned her head to look at him.  "What?"

Agent Ryan smiled, "You will manipulate for us."

Monica looked at him and started to laugh.  He was kidding right?  They still wanted her to help them?  After her attempts at escape and her obvious hatred for them, for their plan?  They really thought she would help them? 

Agent Ryan lost his smile and Monica could see heads, silhouetted in the moonlight, turn to look at her.  She wasn't surprised.  Who in their right mind would be laughing at a time like this?   

Calming down, Monica looked back at him, "No, I won't do that.  I'd rather you kill me right here, right now."

"Ah, well that can be arranged."


	22. Chapter 22

Part 41.

Mulder, Scully and John charged down the path, trying to make as little noise as possible.  From what John could see, and that wasn't very much, there had to be at least thirty people crashing through the forest next to them.  John gauged that there were about fifteen Red Guns next to them because he could see fifteen lights bouncing through the trees and occasionally on a person.  But because he was so far and the light was so horrible, he couldn't trust that number.

Occasionally they would hear the shout, "Move faster!"  But that was it.  No one spoke to each other.  Apparently the prisoners had been ordered to keep silent or were too frightened to speak.

Suddenly a voice boomed, telling everyone to stop.  Then there were some rustling sounds and then the sounds started to fade away.

Scully squinted into the darkness and whispered, "What are they doing?"

Mulder shook his head in frustration. "They're taking them deeper into the forest."

"We need to get off this path."  John began to push the bushes away so he could get through them.  Mulder reached out and grabbed his arm.

"We can't.  We can't use our flashlights and we have no chance of finding them in this darkness."

Dammit!"  John hissed through his teeth and began to pace.  "We have to keep track of them somehow.  They go any further east and we've lost them for good."

"Sir, we need to ask you for a  favor."

John looked over at Scully and saw that she was whispering on her cell phone.  Glancing at Mulder, he could see Mulder was just as clueless as to who Scully was talking to.

"We need you to send a helicopter over the Sierra Mountains, about twenty miles below Lake Tahoe.  We need to know if they can identify lights moving through the trees."

Pause.

"Thank you Sir."

Scully clicked off her phone and said, "Skinner is going to contact the LAPD and they will send a helicopter over this area.  He is going to tell them to look over any strange behavior in the campgrounds.  If there are moving lights that don't resemble the headlights of a vehicle, they'll report them as well."

Mulder nodded, "Good thinking."

John nodded in agreement and blew out a long breathe.  "So do we wait?"

"I don't see what else we can do right now."  Scully looked at her watch.  "It's three forty-five in the morning.  Sunrise won't be until after six."

Just then, a tree behind them was almost blown to pieces as shots began to fire.

"Down!"  Mulder and Scully dove into the bushes and John jumped behind a tree. 

Boots crunching on gravel began to get closer and closer.  Scully glanced up at John and he stared at her before he cast his eyes toward the path.

 Just then three figures came into view.  The agents couldn't see their faces in the darkness but they recognized one of them when he said, "Just an animal."

The other two Red Guns didn't say anything and they stood there for a few minutes.  The agents held their breathe and remained frozen in spot.

"Hold fire.  We don't need to draw any more suspicion than we already have."  The Red Guns began to walk again and then turned into the forest.

Mulder jumped out of the bushes and helped Scully out.

John  whispered, "Come on!" and the three agents ran to where the Red Guns had entered the forest.

"There they are!"  Mulder began to walk around trees and the other two followed him.

"I can hear the bastard all the way over here!"  John glared at Knowle Rohrer's back .

The agents spread out and kept pace with each other as they followed the three flashlights through the dense forest. 

All of the sudden they could see light up ahead. 

"And there was light at the end of the tunnel."  Mulder grinned at his joke as he tried to get a better look at what lay ahead.

The three Red Guns had entered the clearing and walked up to what looked like a large shed.  Red Guns guarded the entrances. 

Standing at the edge of the forest, the agents counted at least a hundred people sitting on the ground outside the shed.  They sat in darkness,  the only lights were coming from the shed's open doors.

In the distance, a helicopter could be heard and the agents looked at each other.  But the Red Guns ignored it and didn't glance up when it flew over.  The helicopter didn't appear to see anything suspicious because it didn't turn on its search lights or come back for another fly over.

Mulder moved farther down and stood behind a bush and peered out.  "I don't see Monica.  What about you guys?" 

John and Scully shook their heads.

John was so scared that is was too late that he wanted to punch something. 

Just then Scully grabbed his arm and pointed.

A dark-haired woman stood off to the side of the prisoners.  She was covered in blood and seemed to be favoring her right wrist.  Two Red Guns were talking to her and she stood expressionless.

John leaned into the bush for a closer look and whispered to himself, "Monica…."

Part 42.

Monica stood still as she listened to Terrance Fisher and a nameless Red Gun talk to her. 

Well, only half listened.  Like hell was she going to force innocent people to walk to their deaths.  Apparently the Red Guns had been building a 'death vault' out in Arizona and were going to begin mass murdering.  Monica shivered at the thought.

The nameless Red Gun then grabbed her left arm and hauled her into the shed.  The light was so bright she was blinded for a few seconds and blinked rapidly to focus on her surroundings.  There was a metal table set up in the corner and two Red Guns were leaning on it as they talked. 

Monica was marched to the table and, as she neared it, the two Red Guns jumped up and stood up straight and still as Terrance nodded to them and pushed Monica down into one of the chairs.

"Watch her."  With that, Terrance turned around and went back outside.  The two Red Guns relaxed and ignored her as they resumed talking.  Monica never gave them a second thought as she scanned the room.  There were about twenty Red Guns in the rather large shed.  Way too many Red Guns to make an escape plan.

Agent Ryan walked in just then and headed toward her.

When he got right up to her chair, he kneeled down and 'her guards' moved away.

Looking into her eyes he said, "Don't forget what I said out there.  You don't cooperate, your death won't be gentle.  You help us and I guarantee you're death, when the time comes, will be quick and painless."

Monica glared and said softly, "I don't believe you."

"You don't think I'm capable of making your last days a living hell?  Let me remind you that I am running this operation."

"I thought Knowle Rohrer was the mastermind?"

"He's useless.  I'm in charge and these men will do what I say. I know how to be  leader and one of the rules to being successful is doing things for yourself."

"So you were the one who broke into my apartment and wrote that little message and stole my files?  Isn't that a little pathetic?  Since you were my 'partner' and knew my every move.  That must have been a piece of cake.  Were you the one who called me in DC?"

Agent Ryan gave her a chilly smile and Monica looked away in disgust.

"Like I said, I've been studying you for awhile now.  I knew what it would take to get you here."

"Why didn't you just drag me here in the first place?  Why all the mystery?"

"More fun this way."  Agent Ryan got up and Monica stared at his back.  More fun?

Just as he lad left the shed, he reentered it again.  There seemed to be some commotion and a few Red Guns were gathering by the door and were drawing guns from their holsters.

Straining to hear what they were saying, Monica scooted her chair toward them.

Knowle Rohrer entered and Monica didn't need to strain any more because he was almost shouting.  "The vehicle appears to be empty.  It's parked approximately ten miles due west.

Vehicle?  Could it be? Monica had to get outside.

Before she could come up with some excuse, Monica was hauled out of the chair by a Red Gun and forced to move towards the doors.

Once outside, Monica scanned the trees.  She couldn't see anything!  It was still pitch dark and the light spilling out from the shed was hurting her eyes.  She told herself to calm down and, still being held by the Red Gun, she adjusted her eyes and concentrated. 

Nothing.

She was turned around and put in the back of the line of  prisoners who were being gathered by the side of the shed.  It was then when she saw a pair of brown eyes. 

Mulder? 

A figure was crouched behind a bush and staring at her.  Monica almost cried out before being dragged down a trail that led away from the shed.  Red Guns were running everywhere, barking out orders. 

What to do?  Monica felt panicked.  Mulder…was John  here?  Did she have hope?

Just then she locked eyes with piercing blue eyes. 

John. 

He was standing behind a tree almost right in front of her. 

"John?" Monica whispered and tears began to fall down her cheeks.  He had found her.

The Red Gun stopped and Monica felt something strange happen inside herself. 

Something began to cloud before her eyes and take over her thoughts.  What was happening?  Words began to come out of her mouth. 

"All of you!  Stay calm.  You will be led to a place of peace.  A place of power.  You  must follow your orders at once."

Oh God?  Had she just said that?  Her mouth…but not her words.  Monica turned around and looked at Agent Ryan in horror.  He smiled and said, "I always knew you would be a natural."

"Noooooooooooooooo! "  Monica screamed and began to run.  Agent Ryan was shocked. 

She...she pushed it, the power, away?  This wasn't suppose to happen!  He raced after her, which wasn't hard because she had barely taken a step when something snapped in her chest and she screamed in agony as she collapsed.

John watched Monica fall and almost lunged out to catch her when Mulder's arm reached out and yanked John back behind the tree.

"Don't be stupid!"

John shrugged off his arm and crouched behind the tree.  He wished so badly that he could just save her right then.  But he knew that he'd never get her out alive.  He had to wait. 

John watched in horror as he saw Agent Ryan lean over and pick up Monica, who was still unconscious.  He then began to walk with her in his arms as the march continued on. 

Scully was a few feet away, staring as the Red Guns marched by with their prisoners. 

She couldn't believe how many Red Guns there were.  It seemed so odd that these Red Guns would want to march their prisoners, almost like Hitler.  And where were they going?  She looked over at John and Mulder in bewilderment.  They were still staring at the backs of the last Red Guns walking down the trail.  She could see their minds calculating their next move. 

John closed his eyes as Mulder walked over to Scully.  My God, Monica looked so weak and there was so much blood!  And her voice was weak and raspy….as if she had been strangled.  He wanted so bad to knock that fucking Red Gun aside and pick up Monica and carry her away from this hell.  To soothe her hurts and comfort her.  To tell her how much she means to him and…

"John."  John opened his eyes at Scully's voice and walked over to them.  Taking a deep breath he said, "Okay.  So I guess we can officially say we're outnumbered here."

Mulder scanned the area and replied, "Looks like it.  At least it won't be very hard to follow them.  What I'm wondering is, how are they going to keep their little march secret when the sun comes up," Mulder checked his watch, "in almost two hours?"

"I don't think they have to worry about it."  Scully walked down the path some and turned to look back at them.  "This manipulation that they have control of…what if you're right?  If they can get that many people to come willingly and then proceed to become prisoners, then they can obviously manipulate the minds of any witnesses that they come across."

"Now hold up."  John stopped dead in his tracks and looked over at them.  "Those people did not look like they were enjoying that march down this trail.  They know they are prisoners.  Just look at their faces! You saying they're still being manipulated?"

"Maybe it's only for a short amount of time that this 'control' works.  So they have a weakness.  Their power doesn't last."

Scully looked up at Mulder and wasn't quite sure of what to make of what he had just said.   "So then we need to take advantage of this, and soon.  Monica doesn't look like she will be able to go much farther.  It's amazing she's still alive."  Remembering John, she reached out and grasped his hand and squeezed it before letting go.

Aware she was trying to ease his agony, he gave her a strained smile.  "Okay, so we follow them a bit?  See where they might be going?"

"Looks like that's all we can do for now."  All three began to walk down the trail at a fast pace and when they heard voices drifting from down the trail, they jumped into the trees and tried to wind their way around trees and bushes as they kept an eye on the last of the

Red Guns and prisoners.

Suddenly they heard a commotion come barreling down the trail behind them.  John turned around, and through the trees, he could  see a Red Gun jogging down the path.

"Well I'll be damned."  John edged up to the trees beside the trail and stared at the Red Gun.

Making up his mind, John leaped out from behind the trees and knocked the Red Gun down. They rolled on the ground and struggled.  Mulder and Scully ran out of the forest and stopped just in time to see John stab the Red Gun in the neck with a needle.

Dropping the body, John stood up.  He was breathing hard and looked up to see Mulder and Scully gaping at him.

Mulder reached out and grasped the needle.  "Where did you get this?"

"I…I don't remember.  Wait, it was left in front of my motel room  yesterday morning."

Scully glared at him.  "And you didn't think to tell us?"

"Well…if I had known…I mean…damn, I'm sorry.  It just slipped my mind until a moment ago, when I remembered that I had slipped it into my pocket."

John looked down at the body.  "I think I have an idea."

Twirling the needle, Mulder looked from John to Scully and nodded.  "I see where you're going with this Dog Man.  But let's think about this for a moment.  Someone's helping us.  And it makes me really wonder who the driver of that Mercedes is."


	23. Chapter 23

Part 43.

Monica woke groggily to the sounds of heavy boots stomping through bushes and crunching over pine cones.  Where…where was she?

And she was being carried…by whom?  Glancing up, Monica shuddered in disbelief. 

Why the hell was Agent Ryan carrying her?  The Red Gun was holding her with an arm under her shoulders and the other arm under the back of her knees.  Her head was resting against his shoulder.

The last thing she remembered was…the snap in her chest and the ground rushing up at her.  A manipulation...because she had been  about to run.  And John!  She had seen John….and Mulder.  Hadn't she?  Was she making it up?  Had she prayed so hard for them to come that her eyes had been playing tricks on her?

Her head ached to the point that she was seeing stars and she couldn't keep a small moan from escaping.  Agent Ryan looked down at her.  "Ah, so she awakes."

"Put me down."

"No.  You'll just slow us down."

"Put me down.  I mean it."

"Don't give me orders.  You will do as I say."

Monica glared at him and decided to think while she still had the chance.  The sun was rising slowly in the East.  Soon the Red Guns wouldn't have the cover of the darkness for their little 'death march.'  Were they worried? Looking around, she could see only trees. 

They seemed to close over the trail, shielding them from the rest of the world.  And the forest itself seemed much denser then the ones she remembered running through. 

Okay.  Think.  She was a rational FBI Agent who had gotten herself out of much worse situations.  Well, were they worse?  Never before had she gone from wanting to find a way out to just wanting to die.  It seemed as if she was either determined to ignore the obstacles that lie ahead …or she would let herself be beaten.  It kept going both ways.

She had never endured so much pain before.  She was trying her best to ignore it and to keep going but how did one know when it was enough?  Did she have the mental strength to manipulate herself physically to keep going?

Well, there was only one way to find out.  But first, she had to escape Agent Ryan's tight grasp on her.

Looking up, she stared at the set look in his eyes.  He may appear human, but those eyes…definitely not human.  They were so blank and so cold…

"You must feel tired."

Agent Ryan didn't look at her when he responded.  "No, I don't.  We must keep moving."

Monica tried another tactic.

"You're moving slower by having to carry me.  Look at the rest of the Red Guns.  All of them are ahead of you.  They just need to lead their prisoners whereas you have to carry one.  So in a way, I'm slowing you down already.  What's the point in carrying me?"

"You'll faint again."

"What do you care?"

Agent Ryan shrugged.

"I'm just slowing you down.  Why don't you put me down?  That way you can catch up with the head of the march and resume your position as leader."

Agent Ryan stopped walking and looked down at her.  "This is a trick.  You'll escape."

"Right.  Like I can really out run you now.  You said so yourself that I can barely walk."

Agent Ryan set her down roughly and grabbed her by the upper arm and hauled her down the trail.  Monica winced at his grasp and the movement that her body was trying to refuse.

Ignore.  She just had to ignore the pain.  Monica could feel tears build up in her eyes as she fought the pain.  Clenching her teeth, she wiped at the tears angrily.  She would be tough!

When they had reached the front of the march, Agent Ryan slowed down considerably and Monica took in a deep breathe to calm herself.

Monica looked to her right and saw the fear trapped on the faces of the two women next to her.  Both looked middle aged and seemed to be aging by the minute.  They stumbled with the rest of the prisoners and kept their mouths pressed together tightly.  Maybe they were trying not to throw up.

One woman glanced over and, with only one look at Monica's torn body, sympathy flooded her eyes.

Monica shook her head slightly at her. She didn't want this woman to worry about her.  They were both being led to the same death vault.

Suddenly Agent Ryan stopped walking and so did everyone else.  He turned around and shoved Monica to the nearest Red Gun.  Stalking back to Terrance, Monica could see them having heated words.  What was going on?

Suddenly, a thought came to her.  A plan.  Hope flooded through her as she glanced at Agent Ryan.  It could work…

The Red Guns were then being ordered to bring the prisoners into the forest.  What the..?

Monica looked around worriedly.  She hated not knowing what was about to happen. 

The woman Monica had been walking next to suddenly turned to her wide-eyed. 

"They're going to kill us now.  I just know it"

Monica shook her head.  "They can't…"  Gulping, Monica twisted around in the Red Gun's arms.  He held on tighter and Monica felt the worst terror of her life.  Now was it.  She had to do something!

Agent Ryan walked over and pulled Monica toward him. 

Monica whipped around in his arms.  "Now?  Why kill us now?  What happened to Arizona?"

"It won't work.  We need to do this now to have any impact."

"Was this your plan or Terrance's?  Or maybe Knowle's?"

Agent Ryan looked down at her sharply.  "Mine.  Why wouldn't it be?"

It would work.  It had to work.  "Well, Knowle told me from the beginning that he was the leader."

"No he didn't."  Doubt appeared on his face but he shook his head. "I see what you're trying to do.  It won't work.  Everyone knows I am in charge and that's that.  Knowle and Terrance work for me.  They follow my command."

Monica glanced away and hoped she looked amused.  "I see."

They pushed farther into the forest.  She was running out of time.

Think Monica!   Anything!  She had to do something NOW!

Just then Terrance yelled for everyone to stop.

Monica looked at Agent Ryan. "Is this your order for all of us to be killed?"

Frowning at her, he dragged her with him as he approached Knowle.  "What are you doing?" Agent Ryan barely hissed out in anger. 

"What do you mean what am I doing?  I'm doing what I've been told to do."

"No, I never said stop.  We keep going."

"That is not wise."

Agent Ryan pushed Monica to the ground and Monica lay there.  Her head had hit a rock and she could feel the fresh blood oozing down her face and covering up the old blood that still stained her skin.

Through the red haze she could see Agent Ryan stab Knowle in the neck and Knowle crumpled to dust.

Her eyes wanted to close so badly but she wouldn't let them.  Through them she watched as Terrance turned to dust and…she just couldn't do it anymore…she…

Strong arms wrapped around her withering body and swept her up.  Monica didn't have to open her eyes to know whose they were.  Burying her stinging face into John's neck, she held on for dear life as he ran.

As John ran, he kept a careful eye out for loose Red Guns.  But it was hard to concentrate because all he could think about was getting Monica away, far away, from this hell hole. 

He felt Monica stir in his arms.  Glancing down, he held on tighter but never broke his speed.

John reached Mulder and Scully, who were standing behind some berry bushes.  He quickly crouched down and laid Monica on the ground.  Monica clung to his neck, not wanted to lose his warm touch.

John rubbed the pad of his thumb lightly over her swollen right cheek and she slowly let go of him and rested her head on John's discarded jacket.

Scully looked her over as John anxiously watched.  When Mulder called over to him  John grunted and reluctantly stood up. 

Mulder was standing a foot away and peering through the bushes at the chaos that was still occurring about a half a mile away. 

John glanced back at Monica, and then peeked through the bushes as well.  The prisoners stood frozen in place as they watched the Red Guns destroy each other.

John shook his head, not understanding it at all.  "Why kill each other?   I mean, if these really are Super Soldiers…then they can't die.  They can only disappear.  Right?"

"Right.  But I don't think these are our old pals.  They may be aliens, but maybe they can really be destroyed.  I think the needle is still our best choice here"

"Well Mulder…"  John turned to face him.  "What the hell do you suggest we do?  They may be destroying each other, but some could get away.  We can't chance that they'll make another grab for Monica.  And we have to get to the remaining prisoners before the Red Guns decide to take them down with them."

Mulder thought about it for moment.  Then he reached into his pocket and caught John's eye as he snapped open the needle.  The silver sharp point sparkled in the morning sunlight. 

Without a word, John nodded his head at Mulder's silent question.

John then went back to Monica and Scully. 

Taking Monica's hand, he rubbed it softly and stared into her eyes.  He could see the pain, but he could also see her courage. 

"John…"

"Shhh...don't talk yet.  Save your strength."

Monica chuckled and whispered, "Careful John. Your testosterone is reaching some dangerous territory."

John grinned at her and, still rubbing Monica's hand, asked Scully what the diagnosis was.

"Well, without the proper equipment, it's too hard to tell.  Her right wrist is broken and she has a twisted ankle.  Various bruises and lacerations of all sizes.  Her feet will definitely need some cleaning up.  Possible concussion…We really need to get her to a hospital."

"Those poor people…we have to help them."  Monica struggled with the words.

John looked back into Monica's eyes.  She seemed to be fading into unconsciousness, which made John feel a bit relieved.   The longer she was passed out, the less she had to feel.

Scully glanced up as Mulder walked back over to them. 

"How is she?"

"She should be okay.  Mulder, what are you going to do?"  Scully recognized that look in Mulder's eyes.   She found herself loving that look, and also despising it.

"Scully, I need you to trust me on this.  John and I are going to try and get the prisoners away.  I need you to stay here with Monica.  I need you to also get in contact with Skinner.  We're going to need his help."

Scully coolly stared at him and nodded.  She hated to be left behind but knew it was the best option for Monica.

Recognizing the lethal look in her eyes, Mulder kissed her passionately and quickly walked out of the bushes with John right behind him.

Scully sighed and dug out her cell phone.  She got through to Skinner quickly and explained the situation as best as she could. 

After the call, Scully took Monica's pulse again.  Satisfied that Monica was stable, Scully got to her feet and walked up to the 'make-shift' window.   She watched as Mulder and John fought off the Red Guns and could see John stab a Red Gun and toss the needle to Mulder.

"They left you behind huh?"

Part 44.

Scully whipped around at the sound of Monica's voice.

"Monica?  What..?  How can you…?  Monica?"

Scully walked up and watched as her arm passed through Monica.

"This can't be real.  I mean, it's…it's just scientifically impossible!"

Monica smiled.  "Some things …just can't be explained."  Monica glanced through an opening in the bush and lost her smile.  "We need to help John and Mulder."

"I know."  Scully glanced through the bush and watched as John stabbed a Red Gun and the Red Gun blew to pieces and disappeared.

Scully turned away and glanced at Monica's body.  "But first, your…body.  We need to hide it.  Before the Red Guns get any smart ideas"

Monica glanced back too.  Scrunching up her nose, Monica walked over to her body. 

"This is just…to look from the outside at myself is just…"

"Unreal?"  Scully offered.

"Yeah."  Monica chuckled as she examined the area.  "Ummm…Dana?  Since I can't actually…could you?"

"Sure."  Scully grabbed  Monica's arms and tugged her lifeless body toward the protection of trees that were clumped together.  Picking up some  leaves, she covered Monica's body except her face.  Staring at the body she said, "If this was a different situation, it would be so fascinating to study how your body functions…without your soul."

Monica chuckled again.  "Interesting wouldn't be my choice of words.  More like…nauseating."

Suddenly they heard Mulder shout for John to take cover.  Both women raced out of the bushes in time to see John dive for cover as a small bomb was thrown in his direction.

"Apparently these Red Guns are not going down without a fight."  Scully began jogging toward them and Monica kept in pace with her. 

"Where are the prisoners?"

"They scattered as soon as the Red Guns began to turn their attention to Mulder and John."

When they had almost reached Mulder, Monica stopped and pulled Scully to cover behind a tree. " I have an idea."  Monica scanned the area and nodded to herself as she worked it out in her mind.  "Go over to Mulder and distract the Red Guns for a few seconds."

Scully didn't question as she agreed and took off running toward Mulder.  When she reached  Mulder, he was struggling with one of the  Red Guns.  The Red Gun had his hands around Mulder's neck and was trying to suffocate him. 

Scully ran up behind the Red Gun and, with the butt of her gun, hit the Red Gun across his temple.

The Red Gun stumbled back but quickly regained composure.  But before he could turn on her, Scully grabbed the needle from the slightly blue-faced  Mulder and sank it deep into the Red Gun's neck.

"Thanks Scully."  Wincing, Mulder rubbed his neck and shook his head from side to side, trying to get rid of the blasted stars that insisted on twinkling in front of his eyes.

"How many are left?  And where's John?"

"I think there's about ten more, as far as I can tell.  Shit, I don't know.  I think he…what the hell?  Monica?  Why the hell does she look like that?  Wait a minute…"

"No time to explain Mulder.  Come on!"  Scully began to run, with Mulder at her side, toward Monica.

John was struggling with two Red Guns when Monica approached him.  Leaning toward his left, he punched one Red Gun and then ducked when the other Red Gun lunged for him.

"Hey guys."  All three men turned towards her and John gaped.

"Monica?  What the hell are you…why do you…are you okay?

Leave it to John to wonder how she was when he's in the middle of trying to save his own neck, Monica thought.  She focused on the two Red Guns.  They both stared at her and were grinning.  She could also see four more jogging toward them out of the corner of her eye.

"You know you can still win.  So what if there are only ten of you left?  More power for you right?   I mean, if you were intelligent about this, you should just take me and start running for Arizona.  You might still have a chance."

"Monica, what are-" John ducked as one of the Red Guns shot his arm out and tried to punch John in the nose.

The other red Gun smiled.  "She's got a point."  The four Red Guns approached exactly as the first two went for Monica.

"NOOOO!"  John made a move when Mulder and Scully, who had been watching the exchange from a distance, ran up and held him back.

"You son of a bitch!"  John whipped around, ready to punch Mulder.  "Let me go!"

Scully slapped the struggling John and pointed.  "Look!"

John turned and saw all six Red Guns lying on the ground, destroying each other.

Monica stood off to the side and watched with amazement as they all disappeared.

Mulder looked on with fascination and shook his head and chuckled.  "Monica, you have got to be the best manipulator out there.  With words...and errr...your body."  Mulder clamped his hand on the shoulder of a still stunned John.  "I'd be careful with her, if I was you."

John caught Monica's eye and they smiled at each other.

"It's a little too soon for celebration guys.  Looks like we got the last four coming our way."  Scully pointed to the four men emerging from some brush.  Scully and Mulder pulled the still very worried John aside and watched Monica approach them.  The four Red Agents stared at her incredulously and, within a minute, were on the ground killing each other."

When the last of the Red Guns disappeared, John jogged toward Monica.  But just as he reached her, she disappeared into thin air.

"What the…"  John looked around panic.  "What the hell happened to her?"

Scully and Mulder glanced at each other. 

Suddenly they heard tree branches snapping and turned to see Monica limping out from behind the bushes.  She was covered in dry blood and holding her broken wrist to her chest and…sporting a huge grin on her face.

She called out as they ran to her, "We did it guys."


	24. Chapter 24

Part 45.

John rubbed the back of his neck as he climbed the stairs to Monica's apartment.  It had been a long day.   Spending the entire morning and afternoon with Assistant Director Stevens wasn't what he would call…a normal day.  The man may have been more flabbergasted about the turn of events than he was.

John couldn't help but chuckle as he remembered the look on A.D Stevens face when John had gone into his office this morning and explained what had happened to Monica. 

All last night, while Monica was being observed by doctors at the hospital, Mulder, Scully and John had come up with a plan to throw off A.D Stevens and anyone else that was involved.   They just couldn't jeopardize their positions again.   Well, they couldn't jeopardize it so soon anyway, John thought with a sigh.

Reaching Monica's apartment, John knocked, and after a moment, Scully answered the door.  Giving him a bright smile, she held the door open for him and they both walked toward the balcony.  Mulder stood in the kitchen and nodded to John as he continued his rather intense conversation with someone on the phone.

John acknowledged him and then asked, "Where's Monica?"

Scully smiled over at him as she walked out into the bright sunshine and leaned on the balcony rail.  "She went for a walk.  I think she just needed to get out of this apartment for awhile."

John nodded and resisted the urge to go after her at that instant.

Scully gazed out over the city and without looking at him she asked, "So how did it go this morning?"

"Well, the man was fairly suspicious the entire time we talked but I think he bought our theory.  By the time I started getting into cults and Monica's ability to understand what makes them tick, A.D Stevens looked rather…tired.  So, to say the least, I don't think we have to worry about him stirring anything up for us when we get back to DC.  And it helped that Skinner called him this morning with a similar story.  I gotta hand it to you Scully; your story on a cult being after Monica was quite brilliant."

Scully chuckled as she turned and looked at Mulder through the open sliding door. 

"Maybe.  But it took all of us to do this.  It's technically our first case back on the X-Files, for all of us."

Just then Mulder walked outside to join them on the balcony.  Leaning against the rail, he grabbed Scully's left hand and rubbed it absentmindedly.  "Skinner says we should have no problem with any of the prisoners.  All of the witnesses have been telling the police that a cult kidnapped them and they were being marched to their deaths."

Scully looked up at him sharply.  "So, none of them saw…anything?"

Mulder shook his head.  "No, nothing at all.  Which seems odd…but also makes sense."

John then spoke up.  "What about the driver of the Mercedes?   Nothing is checking out on this person.  Maybe it was a Red Gun too."

"Actually, you are never going to believe who the driver was."  Scully and John both looked over at Mulder.

"Who?"  John straightened up and stared at Mulder.

Mulder chuckled as he thought about it.  "Spender.  Skinner contacted him because he thought we might need help.  And he didn't tell us because Spender requested that we not know."

Scully turned around, and with a quizzical look on her face, she stared out at the view again. "I wonder why he didn't want us to know.  I mean, he testified for Mulder.  The Red Guns must have known he was on our side.  So why recruit him?"

"He made a believable story.  They bought it.  And he'd been diverting the Red Guns away from us since then."

John chuckled at the thought.  "Son of a bitch."

Suddenly John decided he just couldn't take anymore.  As much as he wanted to hash out the case with these guys, he wanted to see Monica more.  He hadn't seen her since this morning when he dropped her off at her apartment after the long night spent in the hospital.

Noticing John edging toward the sliding door, Mulder said, "I don't think she has her cell with her."

"It's okay.  I think I know where she went.  I'll see you two in a bit."

John jogged out of the apartment and down the stairs to the street.  Looking both ways, John quickly made up his mind to head to the beach.  His instinct told him she's be there

When John reached the beach access road, he crossed it and walked over the first sand dune he came across.  Shielding his eyes from the setting sun, he scanned up and down the beach.

He instantly spotted her down the beach.  She was standing in the waves, staring out into the ocean.  She was wearing a red top and tight jeans.  Her hair was piled up on top of her head, a style she usually never did. 

His mouth watered just looking at her.

Monica stood with the soothing water crashing over her feet.  Taking a deep breathe of salty air, she felt more relaxed than ever.  It felt so wonderful to finally stop worrying, even if it's only for a few minutes.

Suddenly she felt eyes on her.  But a warm feeling came over her, which was strange since it was not the type of feeling she usually felt when someone was watching her.

Turning her head, she spotted John walking toward her.  Her skinned flushed just by looking at him.  She had loved him for so long now.  And known him a lot longer before that.  So, it seemed odd that she would be jittery with him coming towards her.  But things were different.  The way he had held her yesterday.  He had been so gentle and soothing.  And she had seen how scared he was when he thought she was dead.  So what happened next? 

When John reached her, he was once again awed be her beauty.  And felt anger when the stark white bandages stood out against her golden skin.  Without saying a word, John reached back behind her and undid the clasp in her hair.  Her silky hair escaped and tumbled around her shoulders. 

Monica looked up at him, her eyes full of laughter.

"Monica…"  John could barely speak before he crushed her against him.  Monica felt a few tears escape as she wrapped her arms around him and held on tight.  She really needed a hug.  The tenderness of someone else's arms wrapped around her felt so good.

After a minute, John reluctantly broke away and stepped back.

Monica wiped at her eyes and smiled.  "So how did you know where to find me?"

John chuckled and looked out at the ocean before he answered.  "I just knew.  You wouldn't believe it but I think your instincts are beginning to rub off on me."

Monica laughed and replied, "I believe it."

Awkward silence fell and John reached for anything to fill it.  "So have you spoken to Kate yet?"

"Yes.  This morning I called her.  We talked for awhile.  I think she'll be okay.  With the Red Guns destroyed, I doubt she will astro project again. The poor thing.  There's so much she doesn't understand about what happened, but she seems okay with it.  She just wants to put it behind her.  And stay away from jewelry stores for awhile."

John laughed at that.  "I don't blame her.  She's a good kid.  And she was lucky to have you."

Monica smiled.

"And so am I."

Monica looked at him in surprise and John leaned forward and gently placed his lips on hers.  After the quick but soft kiss, John lifted his head and looked deep into her eyes. 

Searching her eyes, he could see the love and the lust.

"Monica, is this what you want?"

Monica stared up at him and smiled.  "Do you even have to ask?"

That was all he needed to hear.  He brought her against him and, being careful of her injured wrist, wrapped his arms around her.  They leaned into each other and passionately kissed.

Monica had loved him for so long and couldn't deny that she had wondered how their first kiss would be. At this very moment, she knew she had been right.  It was perfect.

When they finally came up for air, Monica laughed and broke out of his arms.  "God, the water feels so good John.  Take off your shoes and come get your feet wet!"

John quickly obeyed and then joined her in the lapping waves.  Grabbing onto her, he let her take the brunt of the first big wave.

"John!"  Monica yelped before twisting out of his grasp and, half limping, ran away from him.  He chased her and twirled her around in the air.  Instead of putting her down, he kissed her again.  It was meant to be a quick kiss before setting her down, but the kiss suddenly became deep and sensual.  Lips sought lips.  Their tongues explored each other. All of those feelings and desires felt by both for so long…now erupting under their passion for each other.

After what seemed like hours, Monica broke away breathless and stared down at him in awe.

John met her eyes and looked at her full of love.  He couldn't believe she had chosen him.  They were work partners for crying out loud.  But now...they were so much more.  She meant more to him than anything in the world. 

Laughter gone, John set her down gently and they stood, their eyes locked in each other's gazes.

Monica finally broke the spell and leaned into him, resting her head on his shoulder. John wrapped his arms around her again and they slow danced in the gorgeous sunset. 

From far away, an elderly couple watched with smiles as they commented how beautiful the dancing couple looked against the deep blue of the ocean and the blazing orange of the setting sun.

The End.


End file.
